Former senior students who buried a junior club member in sand and subjected him to two years of abuse while in high school -- including tying his limbs and spraying him with a fire extinguisher -- have been sentenced to prison.
Judge Kim Seong-jun of the Gwangju District Court's 11th Criminal Division said Tuesday that two 21-year-old men, one of them identified as A, were each sentenced to one to two years in prison for violating the Act on the Punishment of Violences, etc. A 20-year-old man tried alongside them was fined 3 million won ($2,230).
A and the other defendant were indicted on charges of repeatedly assaulting a junior club member, referred to as B, using iron pipes and clubs over about two years. The assaults began in June 2022, when the defendants were students at a vocational high school in Gwangju. B was a year below them in the same school club.
The defendants buried B up to his neck in a pit in the sand of the school's ssireum, or traditional Korean wrestling, ground for about 30 minutes. They also tied his arms and legs to a chair, put a dust mask on him and sprayed him with a fire extinguisher.
The abuse continued in other forms as well -- they wrapped B in packing plastic and threw his phone to the ground, shattering its screen.
The investigation found that the defendants targeted B because of his small build and introverted personality.
The court did not order the defendants held in custody, citing the fact that they had no prior criminal records, were minors at the time of the offenses and should be given an opportunity to compensate the victim.
Meanwhile, one defendant who received forgiveness from the victim was fined 3 million won instead of receiving a prison sentence.
betterj@heraldcorp.com
