An appellate court on Wednesday upheld a 40-year prison sentence for a man charged with fatally stabbing the 8-year-old son of his ex-girlfriend after she had filed a complaint against him for stalking.

The 48-year-old is accused of stabbing the woman and her son during a dispute at the victim's house in Daegu, 240 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and killing the boy on Nov. 28.

The man was also charged with confining the woman in his car and attempting to rape her.

He confessed he committed the murder after the woman filed a complaint against him for stalking.

The Daegu High Court on Wednesday dismissed the appeals filed by both the defendant and prosecutors, and confirmed the lower court's conviction of 40 years. The court also ordered him to undergo 40 hours of sex offender treatment and wear an electronic tracking device for 20 years and banned him from working at child-related facilities for seven years.

The court stated that the defendant had premeditated the crime by preparing multiple weapons against the victim, and neglected the victim's call to save her son. (Yonhap)