Habitual Theft Targeting Elderly Victims
Multiple Prior Convictions for Similar Crimes... Continued Offenses Using Similar Methods
A woman in her 50s who approached elderly victims saying "I just want to stay for one night" and committed theft was sentenced to prison again in the appellate court.
On the 18th, the 1st Criminal Division of the Gwangju High Court (Presiding Judge Park Jeong-hoon) announced that it dismissed both the appeal by Ms. A (53, female), who was indicted for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (theft) and sentenced to four years in prison in the first trial, and the prosecution's appeal.
Ms. A was tried on charges of stealing valuables from victim B’s house in Yeompo-dong, Buk-gu, Ulsan, on August 9 last year, among other thefts committed against multiple victims 12 times from August last year to March this year. The total value of items stolen by Ms. A during this period amounted to approximately 12.31 million KRW.
Ms. A first built relationships with mostly elderly victims before committing the crimes. She knocked on the door of one victim’s house and introduced herself as "someone who lives in the apartment in front," then approached by saying, "My sister locked the door and left, so I want to stay just for one night." The victims kindly let Ms. A into their homes. Afterwards, Ms. A inspected various places inside the victims’ houses to identify the locations of cash and the rarity of items to steal. After spending a night at the victim’s house, she deceived the victim by saying, "I will show you my house," and got them to go outside first, then stole items and cash. Then, pretending to walk with the victim toward her own house, she lied, saying "I will go buy something to eat," and escaped.
In addition, Ms. A approached other victims in their 70s and 80s with deceptive statements such as "I will follow you to early morning prayer," "My parents in the countryside sent a lot of kimchi, and I want to share it with elderly people in need," and "I came to meet the granddaughter of a victim who attends the same church." It was reported that she had many prior convictions for similar crimes and repeatedly committed similar offenses without responding to police summons.
The first trial court pointed out, "The defendant committed theft habitually, and the method of the crime was bold and planned," adding, "Especially since most of the victims were elderly and vulnerable, the nature of the crime is serious." It further stated, "The defendant has a weak sense of lawfulness and has repeatedly committed similar crimes for over 30 years." The appellate court also explained the reason for dismissing the appeal, saying, "The defendant has not made special efforts such as asking for forgiveness from the victims," and "The original sentence is appropriate."
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