By Alexander Ahn

Incidents of child abuse on infants younger than three are increasing, with the majority of them being inflicted by parents at home.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Sunday that 10,146 cases were reported to the National Child Protection Agency in 2011, up 10 percent from the previous year.

Eighty-six percent of the cases occurred at home, with parents accounting for 83 percent of all cases.

Younger parents in their 20s and 30s were more prone to abuse their children than middle aged and older parents.

The ministry said child abuse occurs more often in single parent households, which are responsible for 44 percent of all cases investigated. Daycare centers and nurseries have seen a 19 percent increase in child abuse cases, most of which were physical.

In particular, abuse of infants under the age of three increased from 455 in 2009 to 530 in 2010 and to 708 in 2011.