A man in his 30s who stole valuables from his girlfriend's house was sentenced to a suspended prison term.
According to the legal community on the 23rd, the 11th Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court (presiding judge Go Sang-Young) sentenced A (36), who was indicted on charges including fraud, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension. He was also ordered to perform 80 hours of community service.
A was tried on charges of defrauding or stealing approximately 3.2 million won worth of valuables from his ex-girlfriend B.
On the morning of October 10 last year, near his residence in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, A got into B’s car and deceived her by saying, "It’s dangerous to carry money in the console box. I will transfer it for you instead," then took 900,000 won in cash and did not return it.
A few days later, he took 750,000 won in cash using a similar method at B’s residence in Gochang-gun, Jeollanam-do.
This time, he secretly entered B’s home and searched the master bedroom vanity drawers, stealing gold bracelets, a stone ring, a piggy bank, and other valuables worth about 1.57 million won.
The money he embezzled this way was used to repay his debts amounting to tens of millions of won.
A is also accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend C last May during a trip to a pension in Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do, by strangling her with his hands and slapping her over a dispute about treating their pet dog.
He also threatened her with a soju bottle and confined her in the room for two hours, preventing her from leaving.
The court stated, "The defendant’s guilt is not light as he assaulted his dating victim and stole valuables," and added, "Especially, B’s damages have not yet been recovered."
It also mentioned, "The defendant has a prior record of fines for theft charges in 2010 and 2012."
However, the court took into consideration as a mitigating factor that "the injuries sustained by C were relatively minor and she does not wish to press charges."
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