A court building [Herald Business DB]
A court building [Herald Business DB]

A firefighter who punched a high school student on a bus, claiming the student had looked at him in a way that made him uncomfortable, has been fined.

Judge Lee Yun-gyu of the Busan District Court's Eastern Branch fined the firefighter, identified only as A, 3 million won ($2,250) on assault charges.

A allegedly punched the 17-year-old student, identified as B, once in the face inside a city bus stopped at the Oryukdo Middle School bus stop in Nam-gu, Busan, at around 10:55 p.m. on April 9.

B sustained bruising around the eye and other injuries requiring three weeks of medical treatment.

Investigators found that A had attacked the victim because the student had been looking at him with what A described as an unpleasant expression.

"The defendant struck the victim without any real cause, inflicting injury, and then denied the act to the victim who followed him — the nature of the offense is poor, and the victim has petitioned for a severe sentence," the court said. "However, the court took into account that the defendant has no prior criminal record."


bbo@heraldcorp.com