Police conducting a sobriety checkpoint. The photo is unrelated to the article content. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] A man in his 30s who impersonated a police officer carrying a breathalyzer to extort money from drunk drivers was sentenced to prison.
On the 18th, the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 5 (Judge Park Jun-beom) announced that A (31), who was tried on charges of extortion and false accusation, was sentenced to 8 months in prison.
In January last year, A followed B, who had been drinking at a restaurant area in Daejeon and was driving, on a motorcycle, stopped his car, and demanded a breathalyzer test while pretending to be a police officer.
When B drove away, A chased him again on the motorcycle, stopped the car, and reported to 112 as if he had been a victim of a traffic accident.
Although no accident actually occurred, B was booked on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving). Later, it was revealed that A extorted 1.5 million won from B under the pretext of a settlement.
Two months later, A approached another drunk driver in a similar manner and falsely accused them of causing a traffic accident.
The prosecution explained that A filmed the chase of the drunk driving vehicle with a body camera and even uploaded the video on YouTube.
Judge Park stated, "The defendant, who had no authority, violated traffic signals and crossed the center line while chasing the victim on a motorcycle under the pretext of cracking down on drunk driving," adding, "The crime is very serious as it exploited the weaknesses of drunk drivers."
A has appealed the first trial verdict.
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