Adopted toddler dies after abuse; parents plead guilty

New Taipei, Oct. 15 (CNA) The parents of a 2-year-old adopted boy who died in March after being burned with cigarettes and beaten by his father pleaded guilty Wednesday at the New Taipei District Court.

Prosecutors said that between Jan. 28 and Feb. 16, the father repeatedly burned the boy's chest and left arm with cigarettes. On Feb. 17, he allegedly slapped and kicked the toddler, then shook and threw him onto a bed, causing severe brain and eye hemorrhages and seizures.

Despite the injuries, the father did not seek medical help, and the mother failed to intervene, prosecutors said.

On Feb. 18, the couple left the boy home alone. When they returned that evening, they found him pale, convulsing and unresponsive. He was rushed to a hospital but died on March 24.

In June, prosecutors charged the father with causing bodily harm and grievous injury resulting in death, and the mother with neglect leading to death for failing to protect a child unable to care for himself.

Because both committed intentional crimes against a minor, prosecutors recommended their sentences be increased by half under the Child and Juvenile Welfare and Rights Protection Act.

At Wednesday's hearing, both parents admitted the charges but disputed their sentences. The father confessed to burning the boy's chest nine times and his left arm once, saying "The child was adopted, not biological."

The mother's attorney requested a sentencing evaluation, but the panel of judges ruled it unnecessary.

The case, which will be tried with citizen judges, is scheduled for March next year.