'Chinese Illegal Toto Office Raided' Korean Robbery Gang Receives Reduced Sentence in 2nd Trial

The photo is unrelated to the article content.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Korean 'expedition robbery gang' that raided an illegal Toto office in China and stole cash and computers received a reduced sentence in the appellate court.

On the 25th, according to the court, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judge Choi Suhwan) overturned the original sentence of 3 years imprisonment for A (37), who was charged with special robbery, and reduced the sentence to 2 years and 6 months. B (37) and C (39), who were also indicted and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment in the first trial, had their sentences suspended for 4 years.

The appellate court stated, "The method of the crime was very bold and dangerous, and the amount of damage reached 45 million won, indicating a bad nature of the crime," but added, "Considering that all victims reached amicable settlements and the defendants voluntarily appeared before the investigation agencies and confessed to the crime, the defendants' claim that the original sentence was too heavy has merit."

Earlier, A and others were prosecuted for raiding an illegal Toto office in Shenzhen, China, on July 18, 2017, stealing 40 million won transferred to an account and goods worth a total of 30,935 yuan (approximately 5.17 million won).

According to the prosecution, their crime began in June of that year when B said, "There is a lot of public money stored in the illegal Toto office in China, and if we secure the computers containing users' personal information, we can deal directly with the office. Since it is an illegal office, they will not report to the Chinese Public Security Bureau." The targeted office was where B's maternal uncle worked, and B had experience working there as well.

Subsequently, A persuaded acquaintances including C, whom he met at a soccer club, to form a robbery gang of seven members, and C purchased items for the crime such as five walkie-talkies.

After crossing into China and conducting a preliminary survey, on the day of the crime, they raided the office shouting "Move and you die!", tied up the employees lying down with tape and bandages, and stole three computers, laptops, six smartphones, a PlayStation 4 game console, and cash. They also had an office employee transfer 40 million won. B accompanied them to China and informed them of the office location but did not directly participate in the crime, considering the risk of being discovered by his maternal uncle.

After squandering most of the transferred money, they realized the seriousness of the crime and voluntarily appeared before the investigation agencies to confess everything. Except for other accomplices who received confirmed sentences of 5 to 5.5 years imprisonment in Chinese courts, A and the other three were tried in Korean courts. The previous first trial sentenced all of them to imprisonment, considering that they had not reached agreements with some victims.

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