Photo unrelated to article. [Yonhap]
Photo unrelated to article. [Yonhap]

A man in his 50s who refused to leave a taxi and assaulted the driver has been sentenced to prison for the second time, with an appeals court upholding the original ruling.

The First Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court's Chuncheon bench, presided over by Judge Lee Eun-hye, sentenced the 58-year-old defendant, identified only as A, to one year and six months in prison on charges of assaulting a driver under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Specific Crimes and aggravated property destruction, matching the original sentence.

A was indicted after punching taxi driver B, 68, in the face and strangling him with both hands in Donghae, Gangwon Province, in November last year, leaving the victim with injuries requiring about two weeks of treatment.

Investigators found that A had paid the fare upon reaching his destination but refused to get out of the vehicle, demanding that B drive him further. When B protested and pulled the taxi to a stop, A assaulted him.

As B tried to drive away to escape the attack, A smashed the taxi's windshield with a rock, causing about 3 million won ($2,110) in repair costs.

The appeals court rejected A's argument that the sentence was excessive, saying the punishment handed down by the lower court "is recognized as falling within a reasonable range of judicial discretion."


choigo@heraldcorp.com