Infant left home alone dies

[Anchor]

An infant who was only two months old died after being left alone at home for five hours.

The mother in her twenties, who left the baby in the middle of the night, has been charged.

This is reporter Yeo So-yeon.

[Report]

This is a villa in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

Around 6:30 AM on the 30th of last month, an urgent call was made to 119 from this location.

The report stated that the baby was not breathing.

When the paramedics arrived, the baby was already in cardiac arrest and died the next day at the hospital.

The person who made the report was the baby's mother, a woman in her twenties, referred to as A.

A, a single mother, had given birth to the baby and was raising her with her younger sister.

In a police investigation, A stated, "I went out the night before and returned home early in the morning on the day of the report."

The time A mentioned for her outing was from 11 PM the night before until 4 AM on the day of the report, meaning the two-month-old baby was left alone for five hours.

[Lee Jae-hyun/Professor of Pediatrics at Yongin Severance Hospital: "When a child under one year old suddenly dies during sleep, it is referred to as sudden infant death syndrome. It is important for the caregiver to sleep in the same room but in separate beds. Leaving a child unattended like this can be very dangerous."]

However, no signs of abuse were found on the baby.

[Police Official/Voice Altered: "((Did you meet the mother?) No, we haven't met her. You should ask the provincial police agency. The Women's and Youth Division of the provincial police is handling the investigation...."]

The police have charged A with violating the Child Abuse Punishment Act and plan to request an autopsy from the National Forensic Service to determine the exact cause of death.

In February, a 23-month-old infant was also left alone at home and died while the parents went to an internet cafe in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province.

This is KBS News, Yeo So-yeon.