Severe sentences sought for couple accused of abusing and killing their two-year-old son

The prosecution has sought heavy sentences for a couple in their 20s who were sent to trial on charges of abusing their twoyearold son to death in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. At a closing hearing on the 11th in the criminal division 1 of the Miryang branch of the Changwon District Court, the prosecution requested life imprisonment for man A, who was indicted on charges including child abuse murder, and 18 years in prison for woman B. The prosecution also sought electronic monitoring, probation, completion of a child abuse treatment program, and restrictions on employment for both. The prosecution argued that the victim child had a chance to receive treatment, but the defendants prevented it, and that the abuse likely had continued before the child's death. The two, however, denied the murder charges and countered that the cause of the child's death could have been another illness. The court set the sentencing date for the 30th.