"False Report of Pesticide in Apartment Water Tank Causes 27 Public Officials to Make a Fruitless Trip"

Due to a false report by a facility management employee claiming that pesticides were mixed in the apartment water tank, 27 public officials made a fruitless trip. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] A facility management employee who falsely reported that pesticides were mixed in an apartment water tank, causing 27 public officials including police officers, firefighters, and waterworks employees to make a futile trip, was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

On the 23rd, the Chuncheon District Court announced that A (57), who was indicted on charges of obstruction of official duties by deception, was sentenced to 8 months in prison with a 1 year and 6 months suspension, and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service.

A was prosecuted for making a false report to 112 at 2:33 p.m. on May 21 last year from a parking lot of an apartment in Hongcheon-gun, saying, "I mixed pesticides in the water tank out of anger because my work was not recognized," thereby obstructing the legitimate execution of duties by public officials.

At that time, the public officials who responded to A's false report wasted about two hours inspecting the scene and taking countermeasures. It was confirmed that A had committed similar crimes in 2005 and 2012 and was fined.

The court pointed out, "The defendant's responsibility is heavy because the number of public officials and the scale of their efforts who could not carry out their duties where help was needed was large due to this crime."

It added, "However, considering that the defendant admitted the crime and showed sincere remorse, and that there is no record of punishment exceeding a fine since 2005, the sentence was determined accordingly."

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