Negligent Handling of Poisoned Water Bottle... 40-Year-Old Acquitted with Probation After Acquaintance's Death

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] A man in his 40s who failed to properly manage a water bottle containing poison, resulting in the death of an acquaintance who drank it, was sentenced to probation.

On the 19th, the Cheongju District Court Criminal Division 5 (Judge Jeong Yeon-ju) announced that A (47), who was tried on charges of negligent homicide, was sentenced to 8 months in prison with 2 years of probation.

The court stated, "Considering various evidence, there is a causal relationship between the defendant's negligence and the victim's death," and added, "It cannot be viewed otherwise just because the victim was also negligent by drinking unsealed water without confirming with the defendant."

It further explained the sentencing reason, saying, "Taking into account the victim's negligence as well as the fact that the defendant paid money to the victim's children for a certain period after the incident."

A was prosecuted for causing the death of acquaintance B (43) due to careless handling of a highly toxic substance on February 23 last year.

A, who works in plating, was investigated to have placed two bottles of colorless plating agent, copper cyanide, in the back seat of his vehicle without any labeling, intending to deliver them to a plating worker.

On that day, B, who was riding in the back seat of A's vehicle, mistakenly drank the copper cyanide, thinking it was water.

After ingesting the poison, B was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment but died at around 5:18 p.m. on the same day.

During the trial, A claimed that he was not negligent because he had told B not to drink the water in his car, but the court did not accept this argument.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.