Appeal Dismissed... 3 Years and 6 Months Imprisonment
Sent Apology Letter to Parents but No Settlement Reached
A man in his 20s who was sentenced to prison in the first trial for assaulting his parents and taking 100,000 won from them because they did not give him allowance appealed, but the court dismissed the appeal.
On the 13th, the 1st Criminal Division of the Daejeon High Court (Chief Judge Park Jin-hwan) dismissed the appeal filed by Mr. A (25) in the special robbery case and upheld the first trial’s sentence of 3 years and 6 months in prison.
Mr. A was prosecuted for threatening his father with a weapon and assaulting him, as well as hitting his mother who tried to intervene, at their home in Asan, Chungnam, where they lived together last December. At the time, Mr. A demanded "Give me 100,000 won" from his parents but was refused. Enraged by the rejection, he took a weapon from the kitchen, threatened his parents, and took 100,000 won from them. Mr. A used the money he took from his parents for entertainment expenses.
It is known that Mr. A had repeatedly assaulted and threatened his parents in the past for the same reason of not giving him allowance. However, at that time, Mr. A’s parents expressed their intention not to seek punishment to the investigative authorities, so Mr. A was shown leniency.
The first trial court stated, "The defendant repeatedly committed assault and threats because he was not given allowance before, but each time, the parents expressed their intention not to seek punishment to the investigative authorities, so he was shown leniency. However, the defendant did not repent and committed the crime again." Regarding the sentencing, the court explained, "It is difficult to find signs of remorse, so severe punishment is inevitable."
In the appeal trial, Mr. A’s lawyer requested leniency, stating that "Mr. A is a first-time offender and has anger control disorder," but the court’s judgment did not change. During the appeal process, Mr. A sent a letter to his parents expressing remorse and apology for his crime, but his parents ultimately did not express any intention to settle. Also, Mr. A requested the court to allow ample time before the sentencing date to reach an agreement with his parents, and although two weeks were given between the final trial and the sentencing date, the result remained unchanged.
The appellate court reprimanded Mr. A, saying, "It seems that you need psychiatric medication treatment. This is not how you should treat your parents." Regarding the reason for dismissing the appeal, the court explained, "There were no special changes in circumstances during the appeal trial that would justify changing the sentence," and added, "It is difficult to see that the first trial’s judgment exceeded the reasonable discretion, so we will not accept Mr. A’s claim of unfair sentencing."
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