crime

2 men arrested after one-year-old boy suffers burns

12 Comments

Police in Sakai, Osaka, have arrested two men on suspicion of abusing a one-year-old boy in their care by allegedly scalding him. 

The two men, Shoma Marumoto, 21, a company employee, and Hideto Nukui, 23, are both from Sakai, Sankei Shimbun reported. They were arrested on Monday. Police did not say if they have admitted to the charge or not.

According to police reports, the two abused the boy, who was the son of a mutual female acquaintance between 5 to 7 a.m. on May 12 at the woman’s apartment in Osaka City. The boy suffered burns on his face, stomach and legs.  

At the time, the boy’s mother was out of the apartment for work. She asked Marumoto and Nukui, who come to hang out at her residence, to look after her son.

Marumoto was quoted by police as saying: “I was giving the boy a bath when he was accidentally scalded by the hot water.” 

However, police the injuries on the child’s body suggest that a hot object was also pressed against his skin.

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12 Comments
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No. Mercy. Please.

13 ( +14 / -1 )

Not trying to judge age or gender but asking a couple of male buddies in their early 20s to hang out and watch her 1 year old overnight is plain weird

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Giving a 1 year old a bath between 5 and 7am? Yeah, okay I believe you. And mom out working at that time? Donkihote staff? Taxi driver? Convenience store staff?

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Absolute scum of the earth. I wish these two evil child abusers nothing but a life of prison and misery.

I just hope the poor baby is ok, and taken away from the so-called mother permanently.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

The real tragedy about this is this might deeply affect what the boy could be in the future.

There's a reason abusers turn out the way they are.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

However, police the injuries on the child’s body suggest that a hot object was also pressed against his skin.

Has a doctor given an opinion on this? I just don't think there is a burn specialist on the police force. Is the patch of skin the cops took issue with in the shape of an ice pack?

“I was giving the boy a bath when he was accidentally scalded by the hot water.”

That is probably exactly what happened. They were in an apartment that was not their own so they were unfamiliar with the water boiler and bathing facilities. I lived in a place where the hot water would came out scalding. My gas bill was high for it. I asked for the boiler temp to be set lower but was told it could not be done. What's the point of having water heated to 60 degrees only to mix it with cold water to bring it down to 42? A scam I should think and its common enough.

Add to that being college age males and the typical college age male not having much experience in child care.

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

Has a doctor given an opinion on this? I just don't think there is a burn specialist on the police force. Is the patch of skin the cops took issue with in the shape of an ice pack?

Since we are freely giving inferences that even contradict what's written might as well give my take.

The article said "hot object". An ice pack is not a hot object and definitely will not burn the skin like a hot object will.

If the man indeed abused the child by burning using a hot object, then he probably doused hot water on the child as well to cover up for what he initially did.

You didn't even ask yourself why would a person inexperienced in child care give a bath to a one year old at a time when the baby is supposed to be still sleeping.

Why give the baby a bath at all?

3 ( +5 / -2 )

There are no words. That poor child.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Go to the source. The mother is the one making bad decisions here.

The other two clowns are just pawns in her game.

Please let the baby have a chance in life and get the boy as far away from those three as humanly possible, now.

Then arrest all three to the maximum sentences possible.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Giving the boy a bath at 5 in the morning? I am not convinced.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The article said "hot object". An ice pack is not a hot object and definitely will not burn the skin like a hot object will.

So it said "hot object" in the article. So what? The police never saw any "hot object". They looked at the injuries and surmised "hot object". I assume that is due to shapes and patterns. The suspects never said anything about "hot objects" either. Can ice packs on burns cause shapes and patterns to form? I don't know. I am not a burn specialist. But neither are the cops.

If the man indeed abused the child by burning using a hot object, then he probably doused hot water on the child as well to cover up for what he initially did.

Maybe. Sure.

You didn't even ask yourself why would a person inexperienced in child care give a bath to a one year old at a time when the baby is supposed to be still sleeping.

If you think small children and babies always sleep when they are "supposed to" you must not have any of your own. Lots of people are very early risers and like to bathe in the morning. They may have been told the boy loves to bathe and will stop crying in the bath. The boy may have fallen asleep early and so missed his nightly bath. He may have dumped his breakfast all over himself. I can think of a million reasons why but not being determined to see abuse, a lot of them do not involve abuse. Some do, but I know I can leave it to others to present those scenarios. Some never fail to insist on the most sinister possibilities in even the most benign circumstances. We see it every day.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Disgusting, I hope the judge will give them the same treatment

1 ( +2 / -1 )

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