A Seoul court on Thursday sentenced the adoptive mother of an infant to seven years in prison for frequently beating the baby girl, causing brain death.

The 28-year-old mother, identified only by her surname Lee, was indicted in September on charges of habitually beating her three-month-old daughter after illegally adopting her. The girl is now brain dead.

Lee, who had worked for a nursery school, decided to adopt the baby in August upon an impulsive desire to raise a daughter as she had two biological sons, according to investigators.

Lee could not qualify for a legal adoption due to her financial difficulties, investigators said.

“Even after registering the birth of the adoptive baby, Lee had battered her without a reason, which deserves heavy punishment,” Kim Hak-jun, presiding judge of the Seoul Southern District Court said.

Lee did not elaborate on the motive behind the beatings, but said she got upset that people said the baby girl resembled her father. 

(Yonhap News)