Videos of child abuse disclosed at court

Video clips of a couple making their 10-year-old niece swallow dog feces and forcing her head underwater during weeks of abuse that led to the girl’s death were disclosed during a court trial on Wednesday.

A shaman surnamed Lee, 34, and her 33-year-old husband, a Korean classical musician, are on trial for the murder of their niece, who they believed was possessed by the devil.

During Wednesday’s trial at the Suwon District Court, prosecutors played video clips of child abuse from Jan. 16 through Feb. 8, the day the girl died.

The videos show them punishing her by making her kneel and hold up both arms. She is unable hold her left arm up, which prosecutors said was because her ribs were broken.

Another showed the couple forcing the girl into a large blue plastic bag, and forcing her to swallow dog feces.

Others showed the girl washing clothes in the bathroom while naked and being repeatedly forced underwater in a bathtub for over 30 minutes, with her hands and feet tied.

The couple has admitted to child abuse but denied murder.

Prosecutors are also investigating the girl’s biological mother for child neglect under the child welfare law.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)