SEOUL - A COURT in South Korea has ordered the parents of a teen convicted of child rape to pay a fine of more than US$60,000 (S$89,000) for neglecting their duty to supervise their son, a report said on Sunday.

Yonhap news agency said the Seoul court had fined the parents 83 million won (S$89,900 dollars) for failing to take proper care of their 18-year-old son, who raped a seven-year-old girl from his neighbourhood in 2006.

The court said that the parents should have kept closer watch on the activities of the teenager, who apparently committed the crime to copy a scene he had witnessed in a porn movie, the report said.

'The parents could have prevented the crime with appropriate education but failed to show enough attention to their child,' the court said in its ruling.

'They neglected their duty to raise their child so that he can properly adjust to society.'

The teenager, who suffers from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for rape.

The girl's parents had sought 225 million won in damages.

The identities of the boy, his parents, the girl and her parents were withheld. -- AFP