Man in His 30s Sentenced for Assaulting 8-Year-Old Son Over Game Character and Threatening Wife

"Grave Guilt"
Sentenced to Two Years in Prison

A man in his 30s has been sentenced to prison for assaulting his 8-year-old son for killing his character in a mobile game and threatening his wife when she tried to report the incident.

On July 18, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Kim Taeseong) sentenced Mr. A (37), who was charged with special intimidation, violation of the Child Welfare Act, and property damage, to two years in prison and ordered him to complete 40 hours of a child abuse treatment program.

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Mr. A was accused of physically abusing his son, B (8), at their home in Hongcheon on January 30, after becoming enraged when B secretly checked the location of his character in a mobile game and then killed that character.

On the same day, when his wife, Ms. C (34), witnessed the incident and tried to call 112 to report it, Mr. A took her mobile phone, worth about 1.3 million won, threw it to the floor twice, stomped on it, and bent it with both hands, damaging it. He then allegedly threatened Ms. C with a weapon, saying, "I can't live with people who aren't even human."

The court stated, "The defendant's guilt is grave, and he has a history of multiple convictions for violent crimes. Considering that some of these offenses were committed during the repeat offense period for previous violent crimes, punishment corresponding to the severity of the crimes is unavoidable."

The court added, "In determining the sentence, we also took into account that the victims do not wish for the defendant to be punished, his poor health, and the fact that he has a family to support."