A man in his 50s has been arrested on charges of assaulting his mother in her 80s, who had dementia, and causing her death.
On Dec. 16, the Yongin Dongbu Police Station in Gyeonggi said it had arrested a man in his 50s, identified only as A, on charges of fatal injury to a lineal ascendant and violation of the Welfare of Senior Citizens Act.
A is accused of assaulting his mother, identified as B, with his fists, feet, and palm at their home in Cheoin-gu, Yongin, from early last month through the 13th, causing her death.
At about 11 a.m. on the 14th, A found B dead in a room and called police. A told responding officers, "I hit my mother the day before," and was arrested at the scene.
The National Forensic Service, which conducted an autopsy on B's body, gave a first verbal opinion that "it is difficult to determine the cause of death," but police applied for an arrest warrant, saying they could not rule out a link between A's assault and B's death.
Police believe A lived with B, who had suffered from dementia since 2015, and abused her for not eating meals or taking medication, and plan to conduct a supplementary investigation.
The court held a pre-arrest interrogation (substantive review of the warrant) for A and issued an arrest warrant, citing a risk of flight.