Father's Body Left for Two Weeks by 40-Year-Old Son Sentenced to 6 Months in Prison

On the 29th, the Busan District Court Criminal Division 17 (Judge Mok Myung-kyun) announced that it has sentenced Mr. A (in his 40s) to 6 months in prison for the charge of corpse abandonment.

Mr. A is accused of leaving the body of his father, Mr. B (in his 70s), who is presumed to have passed away in the master bedroom of their home in Yeongdo-gu, Busan, for about two weeks.

According to the court, Mr. A had been living with his father for over 30 years since March 1994. This case came to light when police, responding to a report from a neighbor, discovered Mr. B's body.

Court: "He must have known about the death due to the smell of decaying body"

During the trial, Mr. A's defense argued that he only learned of his father's death when the police arrived and that he did not intentionally leave the body unattended.

However, the court did not accept this claim.

The court stated, “Based on Mr. B's call records and autopsy opinions, it is estimated that he died between November 20 and December 20 of last year.”

Furthermore, the court explained, “Mr. A stated to the investigative agency that he had entered the master bedroom around December 30, and considering the estimated time of Mr. B's death, he must have been aware of his father's death due to the smell of decay.”

The court concluded, “A neighbor who had a close relationship with Mr. B testified that a foul odor permeated when he visited Mr. A's residence on January 2, which means Mr. A's claims cannot be accepted.”

The court added, “Although the defendant did not actively dispose of the body by moving it to another location, he left the body unattended for a significant period without taking any action such as notifying the authorities, which is why the sentence was imposed.”

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