"Refusing to Wear a Mask" Leads to Assault and Disturbance... Then Ends Up in Handcuffs

Man Sentenced to 1 Year and 6 Months for Assaulting Bus Driver Over Mask Wearing Demand
First Arrest Over Public Transport Mask Wearing Dispute

Another Man Sentenced to 10 Months for Assaulting Bus Driver and Police Officer

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Incidents of assaulting bus and taxi drivers who requested mask-wearing on public transportation continue to occur. Those who responded with punches when asked to wear masks could not escape the judgment of the law.

According to the legal community on the 24th, Judge Kim Seul-gi of the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Division 7 sentenced A (57) to 1 year and 6 months in prison on the 13th for charges including assault, injury, and obstruction of business against a driver under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. He was the first case to be detained for a dispute over mask-wearing on public transportation.

In June, A verbally abused a bus driver who requested mask-wearing and assaulted a passenger who tried to intervene. When the bus driver tried to stop him, A bit the driver's neck, causing injuries requiring two weeks of medical treatment.

In addition, A was also charged with verbally abusing a foreign woman and punching a pedestrian walking a dog.

These crimes occurred within a short period after A was released from prison. In November 2017, he was sentenced to 1 year in prison with 2 years probation for damaging public property, followed by an 8-month prison sentence with 2 years probation in July 2018 for obstruction of business. During the probation period, in January 2019, he was sentenced to 4 months in prison for public obscenity. He was released on May 6 of this year.

Another individual who refused to wear a mask on a bus and assaulted the bus driver and responding police officers was also sentenced to prison.

Judge Lee Mi-kyung of the Seoul Northern District Court Criminal Division 9 sentenced B to 10 months in prison on the 22nd for assaulting a driver under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

B caused a disturbance by shouting and verbally abusing other passengers when the bus driver requested mask-wearing. He also grabbed the bus driver's hair, scratched the responding police officers with his nails, and grabbed their collars. Even after being taken to the police station, he tried to leave freely and bit the hand of a police officer who tried to restrain him.

In Busan, a man in his 40s who tried to take a taxi without wearing a mask assaulted the taxi driver after being refused service.

C is accused of verbally abusing the taxi driver and repeatedly assaulting his face and neck after being refused a ride on the 22nd while not wearing a mask. He also damaged the side mirror of a nearby parked car. The Haeundae Police Station in Busan has booked the man on assault charges and is conducting an investigation.