Home > National > Social Affairs

Medical caregiver gets six months for putting urine in patient's feeding tube

Published: 24 Aug. 2025, 18:59

An image of a statue of Justitia, the goddess of justice [KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]

A medical caregiver in their '70s was sentenced to six months in prison for injecting a liquid mixture of urine and vinegar into a patient, the court said on Sunday.

The Cheongju District Court sentenced the caregiver for violating the Welfare of Disabled Persons Act and also barred them from working at any disability-related institution for three years.

The caregiver injected the liquid into a nasal feeding tube connected to a patient with a severe brain lesion at a rehabilitation hospital in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, around 7 a.m. on Dec. 20 of last year.

Investigators said the caregiver, who was assigned to another patient in the same hospital room, had clashed with the patient’s guardian over a minor issue and carried out the act while the guardian was briefly absent.

“The defendant committed the crime against a victim who could not resist simply because they were upset,” the court said. “The defendant made no effort to remedy the harm and failed to receive forgiveness from the victim’s family.”

BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]