Eight Assaults Over Two Years of Dating
Appellate Court: "Very Poor Conduct... Sentenced to Three Years in Prison"
A man in his 20s who was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison in the first trial for repeatedly assaulting his girlfriend appealed, claiming the sentence was too harsh, but his sentence was instead doubled.
According to Yonhap News Agency, on the 13th, the 4th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court (Chief Judge Gu Chang-mo) overturned the original ruling in the assault case appeal and sentenced the man in his 20s, Mr. A, to 3 years in prison.
Mr. A was prosecuted on charges of repeatedly assaulting Ms. B, a woman in her 20s whom he had been dating for about two years since March 2021. Mr. A’s assaults began two months after they started dating.
On or around May 21, 2021, at a friend’s house in Gyeonggi Province, Mr. A got into an argument with Ms. B and repeatedly punched her ribs, breaking them. Later that year in August, at a house in Seosan, Chungnam, he punched Ms. B while she was sleeping, intoxicated. As a result of this incident, Ms. B suffered an orbital wall fracture and was hospitalized for four weeks.
During the approximately two years they dated, Mr. A assaulted Ms. B eight times, and Ms. B suffered fractures four times, according to the prosecution.
The first trial court sentenced him to 1 year and 6 months in prison, stating, "Considering that the defendant and the victim did not reach an agreement, the circumstances of the crime, and the number of offenses."
Mr. A appealed, claiming "the sentence is too harsh." The prosecution also filed an appeal, arguing that the sentence was inadequate.
The appellate court accepted the prosecution’s claim and doubled the sentence. The court pointed out, "The defendant committed crimes repeatedly over a considerable period, resorting to violence without hesitation even over minor disputes, committing offenses eight times, which reflects very poor criminal conduct." It added, "Considering that the damage has not been repaired, the victim refused the criminal deposit of 20 million won and is pleading for severe punishment, and taking into account the motive and circumstances of the crime and the relationship with the victim, the original sentence was excessively lenient, and we accept the prosecution’s claim of sentencing inadequacy," explaining the reason for the sentence increase.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
