Mother arrested for child neglect resulting in death, body abandonment

Osan Police Station in Gyeonggi Province (Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police)

A woman in her 30s has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect resulting in death and disposing of a body illegally, according to Osan Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on Friday.

According to police, the woman gave birth in September 2014 at a maternity clinic in South Chungcheong Province. The woman reportedly told the police that the baby died three or four days after birth, and that she buried the body on a hill in the area.

During questioning, the woman reportedly said she had planned to register the child but that the infant had died before she had a chance to do so.

The police have searched the hill where the woman says she buried the infant in South Chungcheong Province, but have so far failed to locate any remains.

As the alleged crime was committed over eight years ago, the seven-year statute of limitations for the crime of body abandonment has already expired.

The police have decided to investigate the woman for neglecting her baby to death, a crime which has a statute of limitations of 10 years.

The police plan to conduct further investigations, including continued searches for the child's remains.

“Since we are still in the early stages of the investigation, we will continue to work on the case without detaining (the woman),” said the police.