Still Mask Disputes... Responding to Wearing Requests with Threats and Punches

Convenience Store Employee Threatened with Weapon for Mask Request
Altercation and Assault with Taxi Driver
50s Man Fined for Drunken Disorder over Mask Request

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] As the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has made wearing masks a basic daily habit, disputes over mask-wearing still occur. Individuals who threatened or committed violence when asked to wear masks have been apprehended by the police.

According to the police on the 19th, the Busan Northern Police Station arrested a man in his 30s, identified as A, on the 17th on charges including special intimidation for threatening a convenience store employee with a weapon after being asked to wear a mask.

A is accused of threatening a convenience store employee in their 20s with a weapon at a convenience store in Buk-gu, Busan, on the 17th. When the employee requested that he wear a mask, he brought a weapon from home and threatened the employee. A was arrested on the spot by the responding police as a suspect caught in the act.

In Jecheon, Chungbuk, a man in his 50s, B, was caught by the police for assaulting a convenience store employee who requested mask-wearing. On the afternoon of the 14th, B is accused of throwing punches at an employee who asked him to wear a mask at a convenience store in Seobu-dong, Jecheon-si. It is reported that B committed the crime out of anger because he was treated as a COVID-19 confirmed patient.

There was also an incident where a taxi driver was assaulted after an argument over mask-wearing. On the 15th at around 9:10 p.m., passenger C (65) who boarded a taxi operating in Buk-gu, Gwangju, grabbed the taxi driver by the collar and assaulted him, leading to his arrest by the police.

C boarded the taxi without wearing a mask, and when the driver encouraged him to wear one, an argument ensued, eventually resulting in violence. The police booked C without detention.

A man in his 50s who refused to comply with mask-wearing requests and instead caused a drunken disturbance was also sentenced to a fine. On the 10th, Judge Park Chang-hee of the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Division 12 sentenced D, who was tried for obstruction of business, to a fine of 5 million won.

On the morning of September 2nd, around 7 a.m., D, intoxicated, visited a convenience store in Songpa-gu, Seoul, wearing his mask on his chin. The store staff requested that he wear the mask properly, but about 20 minutes later, he returned to the store still wearing the mask improperly on his chin.

D spoke to the employees while spitting on the counter table. He also purchased a bottle of soju, stood in front of the counter table drinking it, and disturbed other customers by talking to them, obstructing business for about 10 minutes. Investigations revealed that D entered the convenience store without a mask or with the mask on his chin 42 times until around 2 a.m. the next day.

Judge Park explained, "He has a heavy responsibility as he committed the crime again during the probation period after receiving a suspended sentence for similar offenses," adding, "Despite being stopped, he continuously entered the convenience store without wearing a mask, ate ramen inside the store, and begged for cigarettes." He further noted, "These acts occurred multiple times and persisted over a long period."

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