Court gives light sentence to mother who flushed her newborn down the toilet

On February 23, Jeonju District Court sentenced 27-year-old 'A' to two years in prison and three years of probation for charges of flushing her newborn baby down the toilet.

'A' was arrested after she gave birth to her baby in the bathroom of her home on March 8, 2015, and, knowing full well that her baby would die, had flushed the newborn down the toilet. Authorities arrested 'A' for infanticide soon thereafter. The baby was reported to have suffocated to death soon after being birthed due to the water that filled the respiratory tracts. 

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The courts stated, "The defendant's crime of killing an infant immediately after birth is a grave one. However, we have taken into consideration the unstable mental state [the defendant] was in after giving birth so suddenly from an unwanted pregnancy which caused her to accidentally commit a criminal act, and [the fact that the defendant] turned herself into the investigative bureau and reflecting on her wrongdoing," giving the reason for their sentence for 'A's offense.