This image is for illustrative purposes only and is not directly related to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
This image is for illustrative purposes only and is not directly related to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

A man in his 40s who killed his younger brother after being told to hurry out of the bathroom has had his 10-year prison sentence confirmed. The suspect, identified only as A, was in a hallucinatory state caused by schizophrenia at the time of the killing and repeatedly gave baffling answers about his motive — including that "a tall detective told me to grab a knife and fight."

The incident occurred last August at A's residence in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. A had lived without steady employment for more than 20 years and shared the home with his younger brother. On the day of the killing, A heard his brother — who had just returned from work — complaining near the bathroom: "It's so damn hot. Hurry up and get out. Do you really have to take a bath right now?" A flew into a rage.

He grabbed a weapon, went to his brother's room, blocked the door from being closed and killed him. The victim called 112 emergency services while under attack but did not survive. A had been showing symptoms of schizophrenia, including auditory hallucinations and delusions. When asked about his motive, he gave only answers suggesting he had been in a hallucinatory state.

Charged with murder, A was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the court of first instance in March. The court also ordered him to undergo treatment custody — a measure that places offenders in a psychiatric treatment facility rather than a prison for rehabilitation purposes.

The first-instance court said A posed a risk of reoffending due to his mental illness, given that he suffered from schizophrenia, and determined that he needed treatment.

The court also said a psychiatric assessment had been submitted indicating that A appeared to have had diminished capacity to distinguish right from wrong and to make sound decisions, and that he would require long-term psychiatric treatment centered on medication.

On sentencing, the court said human life is "the highest legal interest and most dignified value that our society's laws and institutions seek to protect," adding that murder "essentially destroys life and inflicts irreversible harm — a grave crime that cannot be justified under any circumstances."

However, the court set the sentence below standard sentencing guidelines, noting that A had no prior criminal record, committed the offense in a state of diminished mental capacity, and that his parents had pleaded for leniency.

The appeals court reached the same conclusion. Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 8, presided over by Judge Kim Seong-su, upheld the 10-year sentence and treatment custody order on June 12, in line with the first-instance ruling. A argued the sentence was excessive and unjust, but the court rejected the appeal.

The appeals court said A had killed the victim — his own younger brother — with a weapon, and that "the victim appears to have died in extreme pain and terror, making the criminal culpability very grave."

The court added that A's status as a first-time offender and the fact that he committed the crime while suffering from schizophrenia had already been taken into account at the first-instance level, and that the original sentence did not appear excessive or unjust.

The ruling is now final. Neither prosecutors nor A's side appealed the second-instance decision.


notstrong@heraldcorp.com