[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

An elementary school student who threw a kick scooter from a high-rise apartment, damaging a parked vehicle, will face no criminal punishment — and is also ineligible for protective measures under the Juvenile Act.

According to the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, officers closed the case against the 8-year-old boy, identified only as A, on Oct. 16 after conducting a pre-indictment investigation on charges of property destruction.

A was suspected of throwing a kick scooter from around the 10th floor of an apartment building in Usan-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, on June 13, sending it crashing to the ground and damaging a nearby parked vehicle.

No one was injured, as no pedestrians happened to be in the area at the time.

Police launched an investigation after the vehicle's owner filed a report. Officers identified A through closed-circuit television footage showing the boy inspecting the damaged vehicle after the scooter fell, as well as A's name written on the scooter itself.

During the pre-indictment investigation, A reportedly told police the scooter had been thrown out of curiosity.

Although the scooter caused clear damage to the vehicle, A cannot be punished under current law, which sets the minimum age for criminal liability at 14.

Children between 10 and 14 can be classified as juveniles under criminal age and subjected to protective measures under the Juvenile Act, but those under 10 are excluded even from that category.

"Even if criminal punishment is not possible, the question of civil liability for the vehicle damage remains," a police official said, adding that A's parents and the vehicle's owner are currently in discussions over compensation.


betterj@heraldcorp.com