Forgery by changing the date on scanned leave permits
Court sentences to prison with probation... "Loss of national defense capability"
A soldier who forged a special leave pass to leave his unit was sentenced to a suspended prison term by the court. It was revealed that the soldier visited a nearby PC bang to play games outside the unit.
Reserve soldier A (23) asked a fellow serviceman in the same unit to forge a special leave pass while serving at an Air Force base in Socho-myeon, Wonju City, on June 16, 2023.
Special leave is a type of leave individually authorized by a commander for a soldier during or after duty hours for visits, rewards, hospital treatment, weekday outings, or other special circumstances.
A’s fellow serviceman scanned the leave pass, altered the date and time on the pass using the Paint program on a work intranet laptop, and printed it out to forge the document.
A presented the forged special leave passes to the sentry and left the unit without permission five times until July 26 of the same year. Four times, he spent about four hours playing games at a PC bang near the unit, and once he visited his grandfather’s house nearby.
The forged leave passes were mostly used to visit the PC bang on Wednesdays and Fridays. The authority to approve weekday leave lies with the company commander or higher, and prior approval must be obtained before taking weekday leave. However, A left the unit without the commander’s permission using the forged passes and spent time outside the unit.
On the 3rd, Kim Dohyung, Chief Judge of the Criminal Division 1 at the Chuncheon District Court Wonju Branch, announced that A was sentenced to six months in prison with a one-year suspension for charges of forgery of official documents, use of forged official documents, and unauthorized absence.
Judge Kim pointed out, “The defendant’s seemingly lighthearted actions not only undermine military discipline but could also cause significant damage to national defense capabilities. Forgery of official documents and the use thereof are serious crimes punishable only by imprisonment.”
He added, “However, considering that this is the defendant’s first offense and that he was punished by a military court for a separately charged offense of post intrusion, the sentence was determined accordingly.”
The prosecution appealed the first trial verdict to a higher court. Meanwhile, the military court sentenced A to six months in prison with a one-year suspension for the separately charged post intrusion offense.
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