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Game addict arrested for leaving infant to die

A 22-year-old Internet game addict has been arrested for allegedly killing his infant son through neglect and disposing of the body in a plastic garbage bag.

The body of the 28-month-old child was found on a street corner in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, Sunday, two days after the father, surnamed Jeong, put him there, some 1.5 km from his apartment.

Since Jeong and his wife began living separately due to economic hardship on Feb. 24, Jeong had spent most of his time at Internet cafes playing computer games day and night, police said.

After Jeong found his son dead on March 7, he wrapped the body in a blanket and left it on the apartment’s veranda for 24 days, investigators said. As the body decayed, the father decided to throw it away for fear that people could smell it.

As his wife pressed him on the baby’s whereabouts, Jeong claimed that he sent his son to a day care center. Later, he claimed he lost the child while living and sleeping on the street. After the police launched an investigation into the case, he confessed to having thrown his son away.

Police plan to verify the exact cause of the baby’s death through an autopsy. They plan to seek a warrant to extend Jeong’s detention.

The investigators are expected to press Jeong to be charged with murder rather than manslaughter, as the man appeared to have left the infant unattended despite knowing that the child could die of hunger.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)