Chinese Man Who Killed Caregiver in "I Am God" Delusion Has Sentence Reduced on Appeal

Sentence Reduced in Consideration of Family's Appeal for Leniency and Worsening Mental Illness

A Chinese national who killed his caregiver with a weapon due to delusions that he was going to be murdered has been sentenced to 12 years in prison on appeal. The court acknowledged the brutality and danger of the crime, but reduced the sentence from the first trial, taking into account the worsening of his mental illness and the bereaved family's request for leniency.

The Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 5 (Presiding Judge Kwon Soonhyung) announced on the 30th that it had overturned the original sentence of 15 years in prison for Mr. A, a Chinese national charged with murder, and instead sentenced him to 12 years in prison. The court also ordered compulsory medical treatment and the attachment of an electronic location tracking device for 10 years.

Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of stabbing and killing his caregiver, Ms. B, a woman in her 70s, multiple times with a weapon at his residence in December last year. It was found that Ms. B, an acquaintance of Mr. A's mother, had been caring for Mr. A for a week prior to the crime.

According to the investigation, before the crime, Mr. A sent his mother messages saying, "I am God. Please believe me. I think Ms. B is going to kill me," and made calls, displaying unstable behavior. He was found to have committed the crime while suffering from delusions that Ms. B was trying to harm him and that the police had surrounded his home.

It was also reported that Mr. A had previously been acquitted of attempted murder in Japan in 2012, as he was suspected to have had a mental disorder at the time.

The first trial court previously stated, "Although Mr. A was judged to have diminished capacity to distinguish right from wrong or make decisions due to schizoaffective disorder at the time of the crime, it cannot be said that he had completely lost such capacity," and sentenced him to 15 years in prison and compulsory medical treatment.

In contrast, the appellate court pointed out, "The crime was extremely serious due to its brutality and the use of a dangerous weapon," but explained that it slightly reduced the sentence after comprehensively considering factors such as the rapid deterioration of Mr. A's mental illness following a diagnosis of liver abscess before the crime, and the bereaved family's appeal for leniency.