SNS
The police closed the case with ‘no charges of child abuse’ against a mother who filmed herself feeding an adult health supplement to her newborn baby and posted it on social media immediately after giving birth.
According to the Gyeongju Police Station on the 21st, A (27) became a problem when he posted a video on Instagram showing him feeding three types of adult health supplements in a bottle to a two-day-old newborn.
Mr. A attached the video with the explanation “Nutrition care for newborns,” and emphasized the effectiveness of the product with phrases such as “No colic and no vomiting,” and “It’s delicious and you can inhale it without stopping.” He then directly mentioned a specific brand name and posted the sentence, “As expected, ○○○ Baby.”
These products are health functional foods for adults for the purposes of diet, metabolism, weight control, etc., and the product guide contains warnings such as ‘Children under 12 years of age must inquire before taking the product’ and ‘Be careful not to allow children to take the product arbitrarily.’
It is known that Mr. A has been promoting the brand’s products by regularly introducing them on his SNS account. As this video spread, criticism poured in online, such as “Doesn’t this amount to child abuse?” and “They used a newborn baby as an advertising tool.” After the controversy, Mr. A’s SNS account was closed.
The police began an internal investigation to determine whether Mr. A’s actions were based on simple ignorance or whether there was commercial intent, and to see whether child abuse charges could be applied.
According to the police, Mr. A explained the situation in the video on the phone, saying, “It is true that I was given health supplements,” but “It was an extremely small amount and I did not think it would be particularly dangerous.”
A police official said, “After checking with an expert, we confirmed that the supplement consists of lactic acid bacteria and vitamins and that a small amount is recommended for newborns. As a result of the investigation, there was no evidence of child abuse, so it was concluded.”
