70-Year-Old on Probation Tried to Set Fire at Home While Breaking Up a Couple's Fight

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chunhan] A man in his 70s who tried to set fire to his house twice in anger after being stopped from fighting with his spouse was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

According to the legal community on the 7th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Busan District Court East Branch (Presiding Judge Yeom Kyungho) sentenced Mr. A, a man in his 70s who was tried for attempted arson of an occupied building, to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 3-year suspension.

On the morning of October 19 last year, Mr. A, living in a villa, got angry when his son tried to stop a fight between him and his spouse. He set fire to some clothes with a lighter and placed them on the floor. After the first arson attempt was stopped, about an hour later, he again tried to set fire to the house by lighting a newspaper on fire, but this attempt also failed.

The court stated, "Arson is a serious crime that can cause great damage to the lives and property of many innocent people, and the nature of the crime is by no means light. Since the crime took place in a villa where others also reside, it could have led to very dangerous consequences, so the culpability is not light." However, the court explained the sentencing by considering "that the crime appears to have been committed impulsively and that it was an attempted arson with no casualties."

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