Police on Thursday arrested a mother after her 15-year-old son with a severe developmental disability died at their apartment in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.
According to media reports, a 119 emergency call was received at 8:27 a.m. from the mother in her 40s, reporting that her son was not breathing. The son was found in a state of cardiac arrest without a pulse by paramedics and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police responded to a request for joint assistance from firefighters and found what they described as signs of abuse on the boy's body. His mother was arrested at around 10 a.m. on suspicion of causing death through child abuse.
Police declined to disclose further details of the suspected abuse, citing the ongoing investigation. According to police, there had been no previous child abuse reports involving the boy.
The boy, who had an intellectual disability, reportedly stayed at a short-term care facility for about a week before returning home after receiving hospital treatment.
The death comes about three months after an 11-year-old boy with an intellectual disability died in Cheonan after allegedly being left bound with chains at a church. The church pastor and the boy's maternal grandmother have been indicted on charges of causing death through child abuse.
Police plan to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death of the 15-year-old boy and are considering seeking a warrant to keep the mother in detention.
hwkan@heraldcorp.com
