Abused 11-year-old cousin dies, cold-blooded cousin gets 12 years in second trial

🔶 Case Background 🔹An 11-year-old boy in Fengshan, Kaohsiung (a premature baby diagnosed with mild intellectual disability, autism, and ADHD) had been primarily cared for by his 23-year-old cousin since August 2022. 🔹The cousin had previously been reported twice by the school for improper discipline and had received parenting education counseling. 🔶 Incident Details 🔹On the evening of January 1, 2024, the cousin discovered the boy had secretly eaten instant noodles for breakfast and lied about eating toast. Losing control, she slapped him across the face with her bare hands, hit his head and back repeatedly with a plastic stick, and forced him into squatting and alternating squatting positions for nearly 3 hours. 🔹After the boy lost consciousness, the cousin did not immediately take him to the hospital. She left him on the sofa and texted her cohabitant, mockingly saying, "What should I do, he's dying," along with a "facepalm laughing" sticker. 🔹She only took the boy to the hospital the next morning. Upon arrival, he had 21 new and old bruises all over his body. Due to intracranial hemorrhage and brain tissue necrosis, he was declared deceased in late February of the same year. 🔶 Verdict and Latest Developments 🔹The first trial sentenced the cousin to 12 years in prison for intentional injury resulting in death to a child by an adult. 🔹The cousin appealed, claiming she was exhausted from long-term care, lost control momentarily, and had settled with the family for 800,000 NTD, requesting a reduced sentence. 🔹The second trial, held by the Kaohsiung High Court on October 7, 2026, dismissed the appeal, stating that "daily care and brutal violence cannot offset each other" and upheld the 12-year sentence. The judge emphasized that the cousin, knowing the boy's frail condition, had subjected him to abuse for hours and sent a mocking sticker while he was unconscious, demonstrating extreme disregard for life. The case can still be appealed. Only 12 years? Taiwanese justice is too kind to murderers 🙄