This Couple Left Their 4-Month-Old Baby Accompanied By A 2-Year-Old Child And Ended Tragically

Illustration of a house in Japan (Photo by nameofmin on Unsplash)

JAKARTA - It may be difficult to understand with common sense. When a husband and wife leave their four-month-old baby, to be only 'accompanied' by their two-year-old brother.

Such is the condition. At a very young age, what can be expected from these children.

The two of them were left out for more than half a day. And the ending was tragic.

The baby died.

Quoted from Japan Today, Tuesday, September 13, a Japanese court sentenced her husband to 18 months in prison. The husband was found to have abandoned two babies at his home in Hokkaido when he went to a pachinko parlor.

Mitsuhiro Abe, 35, and his wife, who was a teenager at the time, left their two children unattended in the house they shared in June.

The couple was out from about 8:30 am to about 10 pm.

The baby was found unconscious and later confirmed dead. The cause of death was sudden infant death syndrome, according to the Kushiro District Public Prosecutor.

Prosecutors later charged Abe only for child neglect, finding no direct link between his actions and the infant's death.

Abe's motive for leaving the babies was to go to a pachinko parlor and therefore, "there are no mitigating conditions to consider," Judge Takashi Ishikawa said, adding his prison sentence was suspended because he had admitted to the charges and vowed to change his behavior.

During the trial, the defense team said Abe was monitoring the baby via a remote-controlled camera placed in the home.

"The fact remains that he is in a situation where he cannot protect the baby," the judge said.