Court ruling [Herald DB]
Court ruling [Herald DB]

A man in his 40s who slapped and knocked down a middle school student he had never met at a restaurant received a suspended prison sentence on appeal — a harsher punishment than the fine imposed at trial.

The Busan District Court's Criminal Appeals Division 4-1, presided over by Chief Judge Jeong Seong-ho, overturned the lower court's fine of 5 million won ($3,730) and sentenced the man, identified only as A, to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of violating the Child Welfare Act through child abuse and assault.

A was indicted for assaulting a 13-year-old middle school student, identified as B, at a restaurant in Geumjeong-gu, Busan, in November last year.

A approached B from behind and struck the student hard on the right cheek with his hand while B was seated. The sudden blow knocked B to the floor.

The trial court had considered that A admitted to the offense and showed remorse, and that a mental illness appeared to have been a contributing factor, before imposing a fine of 5 million won.

Prosecutors appealed, arguing the sentence was too lenient, and the appeals court agreed.

"The nature of the offense is serious, as the victim was a middle school student the defendant had never met, and the assault was not minor," the appeals court said. "The child victim appears to have suffered not only physical pain but also considerable psychological trauma, yet has not received an apology." The court added that the evidence submitted at trial and on appeal was insufficient to establish a mental disorder, and ordered A to undergo psychiatric treatment as a special condition of probation in lieu of a formal treatment order.


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