An influencer in Taiwan who touted herself as a “caring” mother of five has been accused of abusing and killing a toddler under her care.
The woman from southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung, surnamed Sung, allegedly killed a two-year-old boy after repeatedly abusing him for a week.
The boy vomited and lost consciousness after being beaten during a bath on June 6. Sung rushed him to the hospital, where he was declared dead from serious injuries, Taiwan news outlet setn.com reported.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
Forensic examinations revealed 15 old and new injuries on the boy, including seven caused by club and shoehorn. He had suffered skull fractures and a brain haemorrhage.
The local prosecutor’s office has charged Sung with injuring and killing a child.
She faces a minimum 10 years jail and a maximum of life imprisonment. Prosecutors have requested a heavy sentence.
Sung was previously a parenting KOL with nearly 9,000 followers on Facebook. She had been posting loving photos of her and her five children, and sharing her experiences as a parent.
As the wife of a soldier she had been bringing up her children on her own most of the time.
The boy’s father, also a soldier, was convinced by Sung’s posts and sent his son under her care in February after his wife died, paying her NT$30,000 (US$930) a month.
Sung reportedly got a home care licence in 2022, and cancelled it in March. Instead, the boy’s father registered with the government for Sung to continue looking after his son.
Sung allegedly abused the boy for a week before his death because he refused to eat his meals by himself and was not tidy enough.
A surveillance camera installed at Sung’s home recorded her crime.
She constantly beat him on the head with the shoehorn, knocked him against a wall and threw him to the bathtub, which eventually caused his death.
Online observers discovered that Sung had posted on social media that she felt “painful about news of child abuse” and denounced parents abusing their own children in 2016.
“What were you thinking, abusing other people’s child in front of your five kids? How could you abuse a kid while writing all those parenting posts?” said one post on her Facebook page.
With Sung facing jail term, the Kaohsiung Social Affairs Bureau said they had sent her five children to their relatives, and would carry out home visits regularly.
More from South China Morning Post:
- China mother sits children on 23rd-floor outdoor air con unit to annoy husband during row
- China child kidnap victim says mother’s voice in dreams helped her remember who she was
- Global fame of Thai baby hippo inspires make-up products, life-enhancing US$150,000 gift
- Japan passengers pay cabbies to act as bodyguards, ninjas with dramatic drop-offs
- Praise for fuss-free ‘hanging’ China baby triplets on high-speed train with dad
For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2024.
