Court Returns Child Abuse Case for Additional Investigation

By M.ZOLJARGAL

A case involving a four-year-old victim of child abuse in a domestic violence attack that took place in February was returned by the court for additional investigation last week.

An autopsy on the victim's body showed that the girl died of a collapsed lung and a blood clot in the brain, resulting from long-term physical abuse, which prosecutors say was carried out by her step mother, G.Maralmaa.

G.Maralmaa admitted her guilt of physically abusing the child, but refused to agree that the victim's death was directly linked to her.

The girl's father, T.Tsogt, said during an interrogation that his daughter said her step mother had beaten her several times when he was away, but he said he didn't think G.Maralmaa would actually beat his daughter to death.

The case was widely publicized in local media at the time and over 10,000 people peacefully demonstrated at Chinggis Square to unite the public's voice against child abuse and domestic violence against women and children.

The trial took place last week and the judge had planned to sentence G.Maralmaa to 23 years in prison for murder, and T.Tsogt to five years in prison for poorly fulfilling his parental responsibilities and not providing help and care for his child. However, the judicial panel decided to return the case for additional investigation after an hour of discussion during a break.

The panel decided that an additional investigation was...