Sentenced to 1 Year and 6 Months Imprisonment... Fare Evasion and Free Riding Amount to 8.81 Million Won
A man in his 50s who habitually dined and dashed at pubs while drinking whiskey was sentenced to prison. The total amount he defrauded through dine-and-dash and fare evasion was approximately 8.81 million KRW.
According to the legal community on the 21st, Judge Jeong Yumi of the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 11 sentenced Mr. A (51), who was indicted on fraud charges, to 1 year and 6 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay 1.69 million KRW in compensation.
On August 6th, from around 8:15 PM to 11:50 PM, Mr. A received four bottles of Ballantine's 17-year-old whiskey worth approximately 1.69 million KRW, chicken side dishes, and complimentary services at a pub in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. However, it was found that Mr. A only had 1,450 KRW in coins at the time.
On the same month, at around 1:30 AM on the 2nd, he received alcohol and side dishes worth about 650,000 KRW, including one bottle of Glenfiddich 15-year-old whiskey, at a pub in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, but did not pay.
On July 15th, he dined and dashed on alcohol and side dishes worth approximately 160,000 KRW at a tuna restaurant in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and on July 23rd, he did the same with beer and soju worth about 82,000 KRW at a pub in Gangseo-gu.
Additionally, on the 15th of the same month, at around 9:50 PM, he took a taxi from Gangseo-gu to Gimpo City, a distance of about 17 km, but did not pay the fare of 20,000 KRW. He is accused of obtaining a total property benefit worth approximately 6,228,400 KRW over seven occasions.
The court stated, “It is acknowledged that the defendant is remorseful and that the scale of the damage is not very large,” but added, “Considering that the defendant has been punished several times for dine-and-dash and fare evasion, yet committed these offenses again during the recidivism period, and that the damages have not been compensated, the sentence was determined accordingly.”
Meanwhile, dine-and-dash is punishable by a fine, detention, or penalty not exceeding 100,000 KRW under Article 3 of the Minor Offenses Act. If the act is habitual or intentional, fraud charges under the Criminal Act may apply. If convicted of fraud, the offender may face up to 10 years in prison or a fine not exceeding 20 million KRW.
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