The Baby Killers Thread

[Mogura]

When in Rome?

I know I'm evil, but I cracked up when I read that!

Thanks for putting the story up.

It's a pretty messed up story. (Well, they're all messed up.)

There's so many things wrong with this story (not factually wrong, but common sense wrong), that I don't know where to start...

[Langslave]

Whenever I read these things I keep trying to tell myself it SEEMS there are so many because the population is so much larger than Australia's, and of course it's "impact" news, but does anyone have comparative figures for other countries? I mean as much as I diss this place I wouldn't want to find that it IS the baby-killing capital of the world. Even for my black heart that would be too sad.

[Mogura]

I mean as much as I diss this place I wouldn't want to find that it IS the baby-killing capital of the world. Even for my black heart that would be too sad.

There's probably some third-world despotic hell-hole that's got the top spot for infanticide, so Japan can probably breathe a sigh of relief in that regard. However, if you want to start comparing the infanticide rate of developed nations, then you gotta wonder...

But to keep everything in perspective, these are just copy-and-pastes from Japanese media sources. Perhaps Japanese media consider stories concerning infanticide to be of significant interest to its readership, and report any and all incidents accordingly, whereas another country's media might prioritize other types of stories so you end up never hearing about them...

[Wage Slave]

However, if you want to start comparing the infanticide rate of developed nations, then you gotta wonder...

http://www.infanticide.org/history.htm

Statistically, the United States ranks high on the list of countries whose inhabitants kill their children. For infants under the age of one year, the American homicide rate is 11th in the world, while for ages one through four it is 1st and for ages five through fourteen it is fourth. From 1968 to 1975, infanticide of all ages accounted for almost 3.2% of all reported homicides in the United States.

The 1980's followed similar trends. Whereby overall homicide rates were decreasing in the United States, the rate at which parents were killing their children was increasing, In 1983, over six hundred children were reported killed by their parents, and from 1982-1987, approximately 1.1% of all homicides were children under the age of one year of age. When the homicide of a child was committed by a parent, it was the younger age child who was in the greater danger of being killed, while if the killer was a non-parent, then the victim was generally older.

The characterization of the type of parent that is likely to kill their child has changed little over the years. As far back as the middle ages, the children of the poor "Were by far the most common victims of the parental negligence and despair." Today, infanticide is still most commonly seen in areas of severe poverty.

And just as infanticide was described as a crime that was committed by the mother in medieval times, such a likelihood remains true today. Although men are more likely to murder in general, statistical review of prosecutions show that infanticide is usually committed by the mother. When mothers killed their children, however, the victim was usually a newborn baby or younger infant. Some research shows that for murders of children over the age of one year in the United States, white fathers were the perpetrators 10% more often than white mothers, and black fathers 50% more than black mothers.

Other risk factors can include young maternal age, low level of education and employment, and signs of psychopathology, such as alcoholism, drug abuse or other criminal behavior. The most common method of killing children over the ages has been head trauma, strangulation and drowning. Most of the murders today are committed with the use of the mother's hands, either by strangulation or physical punishment.

[exUsagiCoalMiner]

ok WS, now how about the percentages for the REST of the developed world? The UK, Aus, Japan, etc...?
And, I would've figured my country to be on the top of that list. Figured we'd be a bit higher than 11th, actually. Oh well....

[Wage Slave]

Couldn't find the data to be honest. FWIW the US comes in at 24th in the world for murder. Autralia is 43rd, the UK 46th, Japan 60th. The only reasonably developed country higher than the US is Mexico.

Anyway, I have no interest in portraying the US or any other country in a negative way. I just find it tiresome that people continue to portray Japan in a very negative light without a scrap of evidence to support their assertions.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita

[Langslave]

Mogs, you may be right about prioritising. I know that in Australia, at least when I was there anyway, the media deliberately didn't report teen suicides in order not to fuel the copy-cat syndrome.

[Mogura]

A bit of related news. FWIW, I think the baby hatch in Kumamoto is a great concept--no doubt it has saved lives. It is something that should be replicated in other prefectures across Japan...

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/nati ... n-kumamoto

Foreign child left in baby hatch in Kumamoto

Tuesday 09th September, 07:00 AM JST

KUMAMOTO —
A baby with foreign nationality was left in the baby hatch at a Kumamoto hospital, according to a report on Monday by a panel examining the practice. The interim report, submitted to the Kumamoto prefectural government, also noted a handicapped baby was left at Jikei Hospital in the city of Kumamoto. Details of the two cases were not immediately available.

It has already been reported that a total of 17 infants were left anonymously at the baby hatch between its opening on May 10, 2007, and March 31 this year. Reiho Kashiwame, a professor of child welfare at Shukutoku University who heads the panel, said, ‘‘We have decided to make our report public in order to stir debate on the baby hatch.’’

[Tall Tall Tree]

How did they know the baby had a "foreign nationality?"

The answer to that question might piss me off.

[Stick-Swinging Incident]

blue eyes perhaps?

[PanicInducingGaijin]

I just find it tiresome that people continue to portray Japan in a very negative light without a scrap of evidence to support their assertions.

"Japan is the worst in everything. My home country is much better in every aspect, but I choose for some reason to stay in Japan."

I suspect it's nothing more than a manifestation of culture shock. Most people get over it eventually, but some never do.

[Mogura]

How did they know the baby had a "foreign nationality?"

The answer to that question might piss me off.

Length of intestine?

[Langslave]

Couldn't eat rice?

[Stick-Swinging Incident]

It was a blonde haired blue eyed cupie doll, just like the kind you see on the Mayo packages...

[exUsagiCoalMiner]

Does killing your 36yr old daughter count as "baby killing"? I guess she is technically still their "baby"...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080908/ap_on_re_eu/greece_japan_murder_charge

Greece: Japanese ex-diplomat charged with murder

A retired Japanese diplomat and his Greek wife have been charged with killing their 36-year-old daughter in their Greek island home.

Masami Tanida, 77, and his wife Maria, 67, appeared before an examining magistrate Monday. They were given 24 hours to prepare their defense, their lawyer Athanassios Tartis said.

"My clients' position is that their daughter committed suicide, slashing her wrist," Tartis told The Associated Press.

Police said authorities became suspicious after the woman's mother approached doctors at a hospital on the island of Evia — with her young granddaughter — to request a death certificate for her daughter, Amphithea Tanida, claiming she had suffered fatal head injuries falling down a flight of stairs.

The granddaughter, who is the victim's daughter, was unharmed.

Authorities have not yet announced the cause of Tanida's death. But investigators said a deep cut to her left wrist was made after her death and the direction of the cut was not consistent with a self-inflicted wound. Authorities said her body had bruising on the right side of the face.

The couple were arrested Saturday and charged by a prosecutor on the island of Evia with murdering their daughter. Both suspects remain in police custody and deny the charges.

The island is just off central Greece, 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Athens.

Police said Amphithea Tanida's body was found Friday wrapped in sheets in a bathroom in her parents' villa at Amarynthos on Evia.

The victim's Greek companion — who is the father of the three-and-a-half year girl — had declared the victim missing on Thursday after she failed to respond to phone calls. He told police he drove both the victim and their child to see Tanida's parents on Tuesday.

Tartis, the lawyer, said Masami Tanida served as Japan's ambassador to the Vatican, among other postings. Tanida settled in Amarynthos with his wife after retiring from the diplomatic service.

The Japanese embassy in Athens refused to comment on the suspect's identity.

[SamhainP8]

How did they know the baby had a "foreign nationality?"

The answer to that question might piss me off.

Length of intestine?

[indoctrin8]

brilliant! the singing frog.
thats one of my favourite
cartoons.

[Mogura]

I have never read the book, Coin Locker Babies. Is this the sort of social phenomenon from which the book takes its name?

Body of newborn baby found in coin locker at train station in Tokyo

Wednesday 10th September, 10:18 AM JST

TOKYO —
The body of a newborn baby was found inside a coin locker on Tuesday morning near JR Okubo Station in Shinjuku Ward. Police said it was a boy and appeared to have been dead for about 10 days.

According to police investigations, an employee of the company that manages the coin locker found the body at 10:40 a.m. because the locker, which is installed on the street about 200 meters from JR Okubo Station, had been used for five days without payment. The body was inside a paper bag and still had its umbilical cord.

[PanicInducingGaijin]

I have never read the book, Coin Locker Babies. Is this the sort of social phenomenon from which the book takes its name?

That book is a work of fiction from almost 30 years ago, so no, I don't think it was talking about a social phenomenon.

[Mogura]

I have never read the book, Coin Locker Babies. Is this the sort of social phenomenon from which the book takes its name?

That book is a work of fiction from almost 30 years ago, so no, I don't think it was talking about a social phenomenon.

Oh, I assume you've read it then. What was the title a reference to?

[PanicInducingGaijin]

Oh, I assume you've read it then. What was the title a reference to?

Yes, I read it a long time ago. It's the story of two boys who were found abandoned in a coin locker in the station. It's fiction, not a "social phenomenon."

[quato]

How did they know the baby had a "foreign nationality?"

The answer to that question might piss me off.

Length of intestine?

Not being able to prove the parents are Japanese?

[sampler]

How did they know the baby had a "foreign nationality?"

The answer to that question might piss me off.

Length of intestine?

Not being able to prove the parents are Japanese?

Lack of a blue bum is probably what gave it away.

[exUsagiCoalMiner]

And China steps into the ring...
Source:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080917/ap_on_re_as/as_china_baby_formula_recall_6

China reports 3rd death in tainted milk scandal

A third baby has died in connection with China's spreading scandal over tainted milk formula and more than 6,200 infants have become sick, Health Minister Chen Zhu said Wednesday.

His comments came as the major Chinese dairy Mengniu announced baby formula recall after the industrial chemical melamine found in product. The announcement did not say whether any of Mengniu's baby formula was exported.

China's quality watchdog says that its inspectors have found melamine in milk powder made by more than 20 Chinese companies.

The widening scandal is an embarrassing failure for China's product safety system, which was overhauled to restore consumer confidence and preserve export markets after a string of recalls and warnings abroad over tainted toothpaste, faulty tires and other goods.

Chen told a news conference that of the 6,244 babies that have fallen ill, 158 were suffering from acute kidney failure.

The latest death occurred in Zhejiang province, Chen said. The two earlier deaths had been reported in Gansu province.

On Tuesday, the product safety scandal had expanded to include more foods, with state media reporting some formula produced by companies involved was exported.

Inspectors found melamine "in 69 batches of milk powder manufactured by 22 companies," the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement posted late Tuesday on its Web site.

A nationwide inspection by the agency took test samples from 109 companies that produce baby milk powder in China. It said another 66 companies had already stopped production, but it did not give a reason.

One company, Guangdong-based Yashili, exported its products to Bangladesh, Yemen and Myanmar, CCTV said, but added that initial testing of samples of the company's exports turned up no trace of melamine.

In Hong Kong, food inspectors ordered a recall after melamine was found in an ice cream bar made by Shanghai Yili AB Foods. The amounts of the chemical found "would not pose major health effects from normal consumption of the bar, however, small children should not eat it," the Center for Food Safety said in a notice posted on its Web site.

The company at the heart of the food scandal, Sanlu Group Co., has apologized for the tainted milk powder, which the Health Ministry says was spiked with melamine. The company says suppliers who sold the raw milk apparently added the chemical, normally used in plastics, to make the milk appear higher in protein.

Zhang Zhenling, Sanlu's vice president, apologized Monday but did not explain why the company took so long to inform the public about the contamination despite receiving complaints as early as March and having tests confirm the presence of the chemical in early August.

The company went public with the information after its New Zealand stakeholder told the New Zealand government, which then informed the Chinese government.

"The serious safety accident of the Sanlu formula milk powder for infants has caused severe harm to many sickened babies and their families. We feel really sad about this," Zhang said, reading from a prepared statement.

Sanlu's General Manager Tian Wenhua was fired and dismissed from the company's board of directors as a result of the scandal, Xinhua quoted Communist Party officials as saying in the northern city of Shijiazhuang, where the company is based.

In total, four men have been arrested in relation to the tainted milk, spokesman Shi Guizhong with the Hebei Provincial Security Department was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday. The newly arrested dealers were only identified by their surnames as Ma, 40, and Zhao, 43.

Earlier, police said they had arrested two brothers, surnamed Geng, who ran a milk collection center in Hebei province and are accused of watering down milk to increase volume then adding melamine, Xinhua said. They sold about three tons of contaminated milk a day, the report said.

Shoddy and fake goods are common in China, and infants, hospital patients and others have been killed or injured by tainted or fake milk, medicines, liquor and other products.

None of the milk powder was exported to Europe or the United States, although Sanlu is 43 percent owned by a New Zealand dairy farmers' cooperative, Fonterra.

Fonterra, the world's biggest milk trader, says it urged Sanlu to recall the product as early as Aug. 2. Sanlu did not order a recall until last Thursday, after the New Zealand government took up the issue with China.

Chinese officials have defended their response but blamed Sanlu Group for delays in warning the public. Officials say they were not alerted until last week.

And another (on same topic):
Source:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080917/wl_nm/china_milk_dc_13

Three die in China baby powder scandal, thousands sick

China said on Wednesday a third infant had died from drinking milk contaminated with toxic melamine and 6,244 infants were sick as four officials were sacked amid a widening scandal.

The number of infants diagnosed with "acute kidney failure" had risen to 158, Health Minister Chen Zhu told a news conference carried live on state television.

Four city officials and a company boss have been sacked in the health scare which has seen thousands of parents in southern China flood into Hong Kong to buy foreign-made milk powder.

China has been beset by scandals about toxic and unsafe food and other products in recent years. In 2004, at least 13 babies died after drinking fake milk powder that had no nutritional value.

Facing alarm at the latest food safety scandal, the government sacked four officials in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province in north China and base of the Sanlu Group, the dairy company first linked to the toxic milk.

The sackings included the vice mayor in charge of agriculture, Zhang Fawang, and the director of the city's food and drug watchdog, Zhang Yi, as well as chief officials for animal husbandry and quality inspection.

The chairwoman and general manager of Sanlu, Tian Wenhua, was also dismissed from what has been China's biggest seller of infant milk powder.

But with other big dairy companies found to have also used milk carrying melamine, the widespread anger over the poisonings may be far from dying down.

The results of a government-led probe announced on Tuesday showed that out of 109 dairy producers checked, 22 had been found to have produced batches of milk contaminated with the compound.

Chinese officials last week ordered a nationwide check of all baby milk powder makers after Sanlu's problems began to emerge. The offending companies include Beijing Olympics sponsor Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group and Hong Kong-listed Mengniu Dairy,, state television news reported.

Melamine, used to make plastic and other industrial products, is rich in nitrogen, an element often used to measure protein levels, and so can be used to disguise diluted milk.

China is the world's second biggest market for baby milk powder, and Sanlu has been the top-selling company in the sector for 15 years, with 18.3 percent of sales in 2007. It is 43 percent owned by New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra.

Sanlu last week halted production and announced a big product recall. But local Chinese officials acted only after the New Zealand government contacted Beijing, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said on Monday.

China's quality watchdog said two milk producers, Guangdong Yashili Group and Qingdao Suncare Co Ltd, had exported milk formula to Yemen, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Gabon and Burundi and said both companies were recalling their exports.

The watchdog head, Li Changjiang, did not specify if the powder was tainted.

[Raelene]

Infant formula scandal? That's when you know you've hit the big time.

[behan]

Infant formula scandal? That's when you know you've hit the big time.

My high school, a private Catholic one, boycotted Nestle.

Off topic, but my parents supported the table grape boycot back then, too. I never ate grapes when I was a kid. Just sour grapes now?

[Mogura]

Only 4 1/2 years for this kind of cruelty?

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/crim ... per-powder

Woman gets 4 1/2 years for causing son's death with pepper powder
Saturday 10th January, 06:47 AM JST

OKAYAMA —
The Okayama District Court on Friday sentenced a woman to 4 1/2 years in prison for causing the death of her son by force-feeding him hot pepper powder two years ago. The three-judge panel found that Miyuki Mitsunaka, 33, forced ‘‘shichimi togarashi’’ pepper powder into the mouth and throat of her 4-year-old son Kakeru at their home in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, in western Japan, on Jan 3, 2007. The boy subsequently choked to death.

During court hearings, Mitsunaka denied the allegations and said that when she found something unusual about her son, his mouth was all red/

[RandyDickson]

Friday, Sept. 10, 2004

Mother, partner guilty of infanticide
OSAKA (Kyodo) The Osaka District Court sentenced a 24-year-old mother and her live-in boyfriend to eight years in prison Thursday for fatally abusing her 1-year-old son and injuring her 3-year-old daughter.

Kotomi Manta of Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, abused her children as if it were a game, presiding Judge Masahiro Hosoi of the court's Sakai branch said.

"Abuse by a mother -- who is supposed to protect her children -- deserves severe censure," he said.

But the judge reduced the prison term from the 12 years sought by prosecutors because Manta might have been suffering from the results of abuse from her own mother when she was a child.

Manta and her 20-year-old partner, Masahiko Shibata, took turns slamming her son's face on the table and showering him with hot and cold water for about two weeks, until he died March 16. They also crushed lit cigarettes into her daughter's back.

This is kinda old, but really fucked up. I hope they're given hell in prison

[InTheColdLightOfDay]

Randy, you started a thread asking if mixed kids get discriminated against in Japan, but by the looks of this thread it's other people's kids you should be worried about. You could probably change your signature to "If you want to know what a man's really like, take a look at how he treats his girlfriend's 1 year old son". What a worthless piece of shit.
I really hope all those stories you hear that people who fuck with kids get a really tough time in prison are true.

[RandyDickson]

I hope they get paid back in prison too, but don't some of them get protective custody or solitary confinement so that they won't get hurt by other inmates?