Giving flowers and saying "Let's try again"... Threatened and confined with a weapon after wife refused

Court: "1 Year 6 Months Imprisonment with 2 Years Probation"

A man in his 50s who threatened and confined his wife with a weapon and caused her injury after she refused his proposal to "try again" was sentenced to a suspended prison term. The photo is unrelated to the article content. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] At 11 p.m. on August 2 last year, Mr. A (60, male) visited the house of his estranged wife, Ms. B, in Namdong-gu, Incheon. He placed a photo album of their pictures together and a bouquet of flowers at the door and waited.

Mr. A initially knew that Ms. B was seeing someone else and said, "I will bear the fact that you cheated. Let's try again," but Ms. B rejected him, saying, "I have been living separately with the intention of not living together again. How can we live together now?" Soon after, Ms. B arrived home. Mr. A said, "I bought flowers. Let's go inside and talk."

Ms. B replied, "Let's talk outside." At that moment, Mr. A's expression turned cold. He then threatened, "Open the door quickly. If you don't, I'll kill you," and forced his way into Ms. B's house, closing the door behind him.

Mr. A then took out a weapon he had prepared in advance from his bag and threatened to hit her, saying, "Today, you die and I die, you bastard." He grabbed scissors and said, "I will cut all your hair," and assaulted Ms. B again with the weapon, causing injuries that required about three weeks to heal. It was also investigated that he blocked the passage with a table to prevent Ms. B from escaping and confiscated her phone, confining her for six hours.

The prosecution indicted Mr. A on charges of special injury, special confinement, and special threats.

According to the legal community on the 10th, Chief Judge Choi Changhoon of the Criminal Division 8 at the Seoul Central District Court recently sentenced Mr. A to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 2-year probation. The court stated, "The crime of violence against a spouse is serious considering the method and extent of the damage," but also noted, "On the other hand, the defendant is reflecting on the crime, the marriage has ended, and the victim does not wish for punishment," as reasons for the sentencing.