Katie 
The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency arrested a 26 year old step-father on Friday, September 27th after his five year old son died.
Around 10:20 pm on Thursday, the man called emergency services to report that the boy was not breathing.
When responders arrived, they found the boy to be unconscious and without a pulse. After transporting him to a local hospital, they confirmed that the boy was dead.
Due to bruising on the boys face and limbs, authorities returned their attention to the stepfather.
"We initially arrested the suspect on suspicion of death resulting from child abuse but changed the charges, as investigation showed he could have recognized that violence might lead to the boy's death," a police official said, according to The Straits Times.
According to the Korean Times, an autopsy revealed that the boy had died from an abdominal injury.
The man is alleged to have bound the boy, hand and feet with cable ties before beating him with a wooden sword over at least a 20 hour period.
The man is said to have told police that he became upset that the boy had lied to him, so the assault was punishment for lying and misbehaving.
Police also noted that the five year old boy had just recently been returned to the custody of his mother and step-father after the step-father had persistently petitioned the child protection center. Police would not disclose the exact date that the boy returned to the home as it is an ongoing investigation.
The reason they had been placed into the protective care was due to a 2017 child abuse case in which the accused abused the same boy, then three, and his younger brother, then two. In that case, the man was convicted of child abuse and child neglect and given a one year sentence, suspended for three years.
The man's wife, and two younger children, ages four and two were present during the assault. The wife reported to authorities that the man had beat her and threatened to kill her and the other two children if she called the police.
Contributor
