A 22-year-old first-time father in Yilan has been sentenced to eight years in prison for beating his month-old son to death, a heavy penalty in a case that has drawn sharp criticism of the man's cruelty.

• The father lost his temper over the baby's crying and repeatedly shook, hit, and threw the infant onto a bed over the course of a week.
• On the final night he punched the back of the baby's head and threw him down again; the child died the next evening from brain injuries.
• He and his girlfriend, 16 at the time, were living together and raising the baby with no parenting experience.
• His lawyer argued it was only negligence, but the autopsy showed fresh bleeding in the brain matching the timing of the assault.
• The court said anyone should know a newborn's head and neck are fragile, and added extra punishment under Taiwan's child welfare law.

Outlook: The verdict can still be appealed.