A woman in her 40s who stole goods from a store inside Busan Station and then impersonated her sister-in-law during police questioning has received a suspended prison sentence.
The woman presented a photo of her sister-in-law's national ID card stored on her mobile phone and signed interrogation records under her sister-in-law's name across two separate police interviews.
Judge Kim Min-ji of the Busan District Court's Criminal Division 6 sentenced the defendant, identified only as A, to four months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of theft, forgery of a private document, use of a forged private document, and violation of the Resident Registration Act.
A was indicted on charges of stuffing 25 items worth 411,500 won ($280) into her bag at a store inside Busan Station in Dong-gu on the afternoon of July 7, 2024, taking advantage of a moment when the store owner was not watching.
On the day of the crime, A posed as her sister-in-law, identified only as B, while being questioned by the Busan Regional Railway Police.
When asked to present identification, she showed investigators a photo of her sister-in-law's national ID card that had been sent to her via KakaoTalk and saved on her phone. She also wrote her sister-in-law's name and pressed her fingerprint in the "declarant" field of the interrogation record.
About two months later, during a follow-up investigation by railway police on Sept. 23 of the same year, A again presented her sister-in-law's ID photo, signed the interrogation record under her sister-in-law's name, and submitted it to investigators.
"After the theft was discovered, she posed as another person and underwent police questioning twice — the nature of the crime is not good," Judge Kim said. "She has a prior conviction carrying a fine for a similar offense, yet she reoffended, making her highly culpable."
The judge took into account mitigating factors, however, including A's acknowledgment of and remorse for the offense, her return of the stolen goods and settlement with the victim, and the absence of any prior criminal punishment beyond a fine.
th5@heraldcorp.com
