A person in their 20s who repeatedly beat and abused a fellow inmate in a detention center received a reduced sentence on appeal after being forgiven by the victim.
The Criminal Division 1 of the Chuncheon Panel of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Lee Eun-hye) said on the 25th that it sentenced A, 23, who was indicted on charges of retaliatory threats and extortion under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and joint coercion, joint assault, and assault under the Act on the Punishment of Violence, to one year in prison, suspended for three years.
B, 21, who was tried alongside A on charges of joint coercion, joint assault, and assault under the Act on the Punishment of Violence, was also sentenced to one year in prison, with the execution of the sentence suspended for two years.
The two were brought to trial on charges of abusing C, 23, who was held with them at the Seoul Detention Center from Oct. to Nov. 2023.
According to the indictment, A and B forced C to "drink all the water in a large container within a time limit," and repeatedly assaulted the victim, including hitting C when the victim hesitated.
A said, "The time, effort, expense, and mental stress expense I spent to help you reach a settlement in your criminal case comes to about 1.5 million won, so send 1.5 million won. If you report me, I will send a letter to the victim in your case," and extorted 1.5 million won. A also squeezed detergent into C's mouth, added water, and made C drink it.
B also kicked C's heel while C was sweeping in the detention center, knocking the victim down and punching, and repeatedly assaulted the victim by lifting the eyelids with a hand and flicking the pupil area.
The Chuncheon District Court, which handled the first trial, said, "The nature of the crime is poor and the degree of force exerted by the defendants was severe, and the victim appears to have suffered considerable physical and mental pain," and sentenced them to one year in prison.
The appellate court, which reviewed the defendants' claim that "the sentence is heavy," reduced the sentence to a suspended term, taking into account that the defendants admitted all the crimes and showed remorse, and that the victim, who reached a settlement with the defendants, expressed a wish of "not wanting punishment." The court also ordered each to complete 40 hours of violence treatment lectures and 80 hours of community service.