Saturday, May 29, 2010

Korean couple sent to jail over child's death

A Korean couple whose baby starved to death while they raised a virtual child in an online fantasy game has been sentenced. Prosecutors at Suwon District Court had sought a five-year sentence for negligent homicide, but the court handed out a two-year sentence. Sentence was suspended for the female defendant, Kim Yun-jeong, 25, who is expecting the couple's daughter in August 2010. Her partner, Kim Jae-beom, 41, will serve two years. Three-month-old Kim Sa-rang died of malnutrition in September while her parents were engaged in 12-hour sessions of Prius Online. In the 3-D fantasy game, players nurture an online girl who gains magical powers as she grows. During their trial, the court heard that the toddler weighed 6.4 pounds when she was born, but was only 5.5 pounds at the time of her death.

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