Unregistered Thai woman gets suspended jail term over death of newborn

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By Lee Hyo-jin

An unregistered Thai woman was given a suspended prison sentence for neglecting her newborn baby, resulting in death, according to a local court, Thursday.

The Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced the 37-year-old woman to a two-year prison term suspended for three years for the crime of abandonment of an infant resulting in death.

The woman delivered the baby at around 8 p.m., Mar. 29, in Gwanak District, Seoul, alone without medical assistance. The baby died around two hours later as she neglected the infant without giving it sufficient care including failing to clear amniotic fluid from the baby's nose and mouth.

It was found during the police investigation that she had been staying in the country illegally, and therefore did not contact the police nor take the baby to the emergency room, out of concern that her illegal stay would be revealed.

Regarding the baby's father, the accused stated that she had become pregnant with one of her clients at a massage shop where she was working.

She claimed that she had not been aware of the pregnancy until the due date as she was suffering from a blood disorder called thalassemia and typically menstruated only once every 28 weeks, adding that she had done her best for the baby. She also said that she could not go to the hospital as she did not speak Korean.

“Her crime is severe as it took away a newborn baby's life. Also, as this was not her first time giving birth to a baby, she must have had basic knowledge on post-delivery procedures,” Judge Son Joo-chul said in his ruling.

“However, the court took into consideration that she behaved out of fear that she may be deported if her undocumented status was revealed, and she is currently suffering from excessive stress due to mental and physical shock from the incident.”