30s Man Given Probation for Putting Bleach in Beverage of Colleague Who Didn't Reply 'I Like You' Text

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A man in his 30s who mixed bleach into a drink because a female coworker he liked did not respond to his messages was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial.

On the 17th, according to the legal community, Judge Park Seol-ah of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 24 sentenced A (36, male), who was charged with attempted special injury and concealment of property, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension. He was also ordered to perform 160 hours of community service.

Earlier, A was brought to trial on charges of mixing bleach into a drink that his female coworker B (46) was about to consume at a supermarket in Seoul where he worked in May last year, after B blocked his messages and reported this to their supervisor.

Fortunately, B detected the smell of bleach and discarded the drink without consuming it. However, A mixed bleach into a coffee drink cup believed to belong to B three days later, but neither B nor the actual owner of the cup, another coworker, drank it, preventing a serious accident.

In addition, A was also charged with stealing B’s mobile phone with the intent to harass her, deleting text and KakaoTalk messages, and hiding the phone at his home for about a month.

Judge Park stated, "Considering the method of the crime and the danger of the act, the nature of the offense is very serious. It is judged that the victim suffered considerable psychological shock," and found all of A’s charges guilty.

However, the judge added, "Fortunately, the victim did not drink the beverage and was not injured, the victim expressed a desire not to punish the defendant, the defendant is a first-time offender with no criminal record, and he admitted to his crime and showed remorse. These sentencing factors were taken into account in determining the sentence."

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