"Husband Who Spat on Wife's Food Saying 'Why Are You Calling While Eating?' Fined for Property Damage"

Court: "Jointly Owned Property Also Subject to Property Damage Crime"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A husband who was prosecuted for property damage after spitting on the food his wife was eating has been confirmed guilty by the Supreme Court.

On the 26th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice No Taeak) announced that it upheld the lower court's ruling, which sentenced Mr. A (47, male), who was charged with property damage, to a fine of 500,000 won.

Earlier, on April 28th last year, around 11:30 a.m., Mr. A was prosecuted for verbally abusing his wife, Mrs. B, who was eating while on a phone call at home, saying, "Hey XXX, are you eating while talking on the phone?" and spitting on the side dishes and stew placed in front of her to prevent her from eating. It was investigated that Mr. A spat on the food again after Mrs. B said, "How disgusting to spit."

Mr. A's side argued in court that "the side dishes and stew did not belong to Mrs. B, and it cannot be considered that the defendant's actions impaired the utility of the food." Mr. A also stated during police questioning, "I also had to eat, but I couldn't."

The first trial sentenced him to a fine of 500,000 won. At that time, the court stated, "There is no way the food being prepared and eaten by the victim does not belong to the victim, and once it is recognized that the food contains another person's saliva, it is clearly evident from common experience that the utility of the food has been impaired."

The second trial also rejected Mr. A's claims. The second trial court emphasized, "Damaging another person's property includes cases where property jointly owned with others is damaged," and "It cannot be said that the defendant solely owned the side dishes and stew in this case."

The Supreme Court also agreed with this judgment. The court dismissed Mr. A's appeal, stating, "The lower court did not err in its legal interpretation regarding 'another person's property' in the crime of property damage."

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