The Osaka District Court in western Japan has sentenced a man to ten years in prison for causing the death of his girlfriend's three-year-old son by scalding him with hot water.

The court on Friday handed down the ruling to Matsubara Takumi, who was charged with killing Niimura Orito in August 2021.

Prosecutors had demanded an 18-year prison sentence, calling Matsubara's act cruel and heinous. He denied the charge.

Presiding judge Sakaguchi Hirotoshi determined that the defendant deliberately poured scalding water on Orito, but wasn't aware that the boy could die.

Sakaguchi said the defendant should be charged with causing injury resulting in death, rather than homicide.

The judge added that although the defendant had no intention of killing the boy, what he did was cruel because Orito suffered severe burns all over his body.

Sakaguchi also said the defendant deserves strong condemnation as he had been abusing the boy since before the fatal incident.