"Already punished for drug use," defendant claims
Court: "Use and possession are separate crimes"
A man in his 30s who stayed alone at a pension and was caught after flushing a syringe containing drugs down the toilet has been convicted again for drug possession in his appeal trial.
According to Yonhap News on September 28, the Criminal Division 1 of Chuncheon District Court (Presiding Judge Sim Hyungeun) overturned the original sentence of one year in prison for Mr. A (31), who was indicted on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act, and instead sentenced him to six months in prison.
Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of possessing an unspecified amount of methamphetamine, which he had dissolved in water and stored in a disposable syringe, while staying alone at a pension in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province in October 2023. After Mr. A checked out, the pension owner found the toilet clogged in November of the same year and called a repairman, who discovered four syringes in the toilet drain.
Upon request by the police, the National Forensic Service tested the four syringes and detected methamphetamine in all of them, with two syringes showing a positive reaction for blood. DNA analysis revealed that three of the syringes contained DNA from the same male, which matched Mr. A.
Previously, in April 2023, Mr. A had been convicted and sentenced to two years in prison by the same court, with the sentence finalized, for injecting approximately 0.1 grams of methamphetamine on two occasions in Daegu and then, the following day, possessing about 0.35 grams of methamphetamine in a plastic zipper bag placed on a hotel room table. He was also charged with injecting 0.03 grams of methamphetamine in Wonju, Gangwon Province in October of the same year.
In court, Mr. A’s defense argued that he did not possess methamphetamine, or even if he did, it was the same methamphetamine used in Wonju in October 2023, for which he had already been convicted, and thus, punishing him again would violate the principle of double jeopardy. Double jeopardy is the principle that a person cannot be punished twice for the same crime.
However, the court of first instance did not accept Mr. A’s argument, stating, "It is recognized that the defendant possessed methamphetamine, and since all of it was disposed of in the toilet before checking out of the Yangpyeong pension and then discovered, it is clear that this methamphetamine is different from that used in Wonju around the same period." Upon appeal by both parties, the appellate court also determined, based on the forensic results, that Mr. A had possessed an unspecified amount of methamphetamine.
The appellate court stated, "Possession and use are separate crimes with different legal interests and elements, so the claim that the defendant cannot be punished again for possession simply because he was punished for use is without merit." The court further pointed out, "This case concerns syringes left at the pension by the defendant, not those allegedly taken and used in Wonju, so it is difficult to see the principle of double jeopardy as applicable." The Narcotics Control Act distinguishes and punishes each act related to drugs separately, so possessing drugs and using drugs each constitute distinct criminal acts.
The court did not accept the prosecution’s claim that Mr. A not only possessed but also used drugs at the Yangpyeong pension, stating, "It is difficult to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that use has been proven." However, the sentence was reduced for legal reasons, including the fact that Mr. A had already received a prison sentence for other drug offenses.
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