Bar Owner Who Threatened Regular Customer Boasting "I Made a Lot of Money from Stock Investments" Sentenced to Prison

Appellate Court Upholds Prison Sentence for Adult Entertainment Bar Owner

An adult entertainment bar owner who extorted money from a regular customer by threatening him after hearing that he had made a lot of money from stock investments was sentenced to prison in the appellate court as well.

According to Yonhap News Agency on January 6, the 1st Criminal Division of the Suwon High Court (Presiding Judge Shin Hyunil) sentenced Mr. A, who was tried on charges of attempted aggravated robbery, aggravated robbery, joint unlawful confinement, and coercion, to five years in prison, upholding the original verdict. The appellate court also reduced the sentence for Mr. B, who committed the crime with Mr. A, from two years and six months to two years in prison.

Trial. (This photo is not directly related to the article.) Pixabay Pixabay

Mr. A heard from the victim, Mr. C, who is in his 30s, that he had made a lot of money from stock investments. On January 12 of last year at around 4:46 a.m., in a private room at an adult entertainment bar in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Mr. A placed pliers and tape on the table, showed a scar on his abdomen, and brandished a weapon to threaten Mr. C and demand money.

Mr. A continued to threaten Mr. C, repeatedly demanding money. He unlocked Mr. C's phone to check his banking app and stock account, only to find that there was almost no balance.

Mr. A then called Mr. C's father and said, "Your son has not repaid the money he promised to pay back by today. The amount he borrowed is 160 million won. I will waive the interest, so please pay back the remaining amount on his behalf," demanding money from him as well.

Unable to withstand the threats from Mr. A and Mr. B, Mr. C wrote a cash receipt for 160 million won on the spot.

The appellate court stated, "Mr. A continues to make unconvincing excuses for much of the crime in this case and denies the charges, so it does not appear that he is sincerely reflecting on his actions," adding, "The original sentence was within the reasonable scope of discretion."

Mr. A had a prior criminal record, including eight months in prison for forcible molestation, three years and eight months and five years and six months in prison for child rape and related charges, and eight months in prison for aggravated intimidation.

Mr. B was charged with aiding and abetting the crime by bringing a weapon to Mr. A and checking Mr. C's bank balance and other information using Mr. C's mobile phone.