Man Who Stole 20,000 Won Worth of Pork from Butcher Shop Receives 6-Month Prison Sentence

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A man who stole 2 kg of pork from a butcher shop was sentenced to prison and taken into custody in court. The defendant claimed to have acted alone, but the court ruled that the special theft charge, which carries a minimum prison sentence of one year, was applicable considering that an acquaintance was acting as a lookout.

According to the legal community on the 1st, Judge Nam Shinhyang of the Criminal Division 17 at the Seoul Central District Court recently sentenced A (50) to six months in prison on charges of special theft.

A was prosecuted for allegedly taking 20,000 won worth (2 kg) of pork from a refrigerator in front of a butcher shop in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, around 3 p.m. on November 25 last year, while acquaintance B was acting as a lookout.

In court, A admitted to the theft but insisted that he committed the crime alone without B's help.

According to Article 329 of the current Criminal Act, "A person who steals another person's property shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than six years or a fine not exceeding 10 million won." However, special theft (Article 331 of the Criminal Act), which involves two or more people acting together or carrying weapons to steal property, is punishable by imprisonment for one year to ten years, thus carrying a heavier penalty.

However, the court pointed out, "Based on the evidence, it is difficult to deny that B helped the defendant during the theft of the pork," and "It can be sufficiently recognized that the two acted jointly to steal the pork."

The butcher shop's CCTV footage also showed B alternating between watching A, who was taking the meat, and the inside of the store, then following A as he left the scene. The footage also captured B shouting toward the inside of the store, and the butcher shop owner testified, "One of the two men who came together said, 'I'll be back soon' and left."

The court stated, "Although the damage caused by the crime is relatively small," it decided the sentence considering various circumstances, including that the minimum statutory sentence for special theft is one year in prison. It also took into account that A has multiple prior criminal records, including a four-month prison sentence last year for joint assault, and that the crime was committed during the recidivism period (three years after the completion or exemption of a sentence)."

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