[Asia Economy Reporter Byun Seon-jin] A man in his 40s was sentenced to prison for throwing objects and attempting to set fire to his house out of anger because his mother did not prepare meals for him.
The Criminal Division 1 of the Chuncheon Branch of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Hwang Seung-tae) announced on the 10th that it dismissed the appeal filed by Mr. A (45), who was charged with attempted arson of an occupied building and property damage, and upheld the original sentence of 10 months in prison.
Mr. A was prosecuted for throwing a fan and breaking a TV at his home in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon Province, on November 11 last year, claiming that his mother in her 70s did not prepare meals for him. On the same day, after a phone argument with his mother, he became angry and gathered blankets and an electric heating pad in the living room and set them on fire, but extinguished the fire himself, resulting in an attempted arson charge. Mr. A was sentenced to imprisonment in the first trial and was taken into custody in court. He pleaded for leniency in the appeal trial, but the sentence was not reduced.
The appellate court explained the reason for dismissal, stating, "Although the victim blames herself and earnestly pleads for leniency, probation is impossible because the crime was committed during the recidivism period, and aside from the reduction for attempted crime, the sentence is close to the lower limit of the legally prescribed punishment considering other mitigating factors."
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