Prosecutors have sought a life sentence for a North Korean defector standing trial on charges of killing her younger brother to collect his severance pay and insurance money.
At a final hearing held Friday before the criminal division of the Busan District Court's Eastern Branch, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Dong-gi, prosecutors called for a life sentence for the woman in her 50s, identified only as A.
A is accused of killing her younger brother, B, a man in his 40s, at an apartment in Gijang-gun, Busan, on Aug. 29 last year.
Prosecutors believe A drugged B's coffee with sleeping pills before strangling him to death.
They also believe the killing was premeditated, carried out with the aim of seizing B's severance pay, insurance proceeds and other assets.
The siblings had defected from North Korea and entered South Korea 10 years ago.
A has denied all allegations of premeditation.
newday@heraldcorp.com
