"40s Man Who Hit Colleagues with Car Despite Young Age Receives Suspended Sentence in Appeal Trial"

Upholding the Original Verdict...Court: "Acceleration Just Before Impact Suggests Intent"

A man who injured a younger colleague by hitting him with a car because he was insulted received a suspended prison sentence again in the second trial. /The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] A man who injured a younger colleague by ramming him with a passenger car after being cursed at was sentenced to a suspended prison term again in the appellate court.

On the 12th, the Criminal Division 1 of Suwon High Court (Presiding Judge Yoon Seongsik) announced that it sentenced Mr. A, a man in his 40s who was charged with attempted murder, to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 3-year suspension, the same as the original trial.

On the afternoon of October 31 last year, Mr. A drove a Sonata passenger car and charged toward Mr. B, who was standing by the roadside in Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi Province, hitting Mr. B with the front bumper of the vehicle. Mr. B reportedly suffered injuries requiring 7 weeks of medical treatment.

Mr. A and Mr. B worked together at an unregistered vehicle passenger transport company, known as a 'call-twigi' business. It was investigated that Mr. A committed the crime out of anger because Mr. B, who was 7 years younger, cursed at him.

On the day of the incident, Mr. A received a request from an acquaintance to retrieve a mobile phone left in Mr. B’s vehicle and asked Mr. B to check it. However, Mr. B did not immediately comply with Mr. A’s request, citing reasons such as "the vehicle is at the car wash."

Suspecting that Mr. B was deliberately withholding the phone, Mr. A first cursed at him, and Mr. B responded with curses as well. Hearing this, Mr. A called Mr. B and said, "I will kill you. Stay right there," then moved to the location where Mr. B was. Mr. A found Mr. B talking on the phone by the roadside and suddenly accelerated from 30 km/h to 44 km/h, hitting Mr. B.

Mr. A, who was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 3-year suspension in the first trial, claimed in court that "I drove the vehicle quickly beside the victim to scare him, but I did not intend to kill him."

However, the appellate court did not accept this. The court stated, "Considering the speed and direction of the defendant’s vehicle and the defendant’s facial expressions and actions after the accident, it is difficult to accept the defendant’s claim that he only intended to threaten."

It added, "The defendant and his lawyer argue that a fatal accident is unlikely to occur at a speed of about 44 km/h objectively. However, since the vehicle momentarily accelerated about 15 km/h just before the impact, it is reasonable to conclude that this does not affect the establishment of the crime."