Abuse claimed the lives of 16 children from January through March, up by six from the same period last year, with the total number of reported victims rising by 14 to 53, the National Police Agency said Thursday.

Of the 16 deaths, nine were classified as murders, six as deaths resulting from injury, unchanged from last year, and the remaining one as parental negligence, also unchanged, the agency said.

In the quarter, police nationwide investigated 53 child-abuse cases, which involved victims aged up to 17, according to the agency.