Taking Money, Playing Fainting Games... Unrepentant 'Hakpok Demon' Sentenced to Prison

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] A man in his 20s who threatened and extorted money from a classmate during high school was sentenced to prison.

Judge Lee Ji-young of the Criminal Division 3 at Gwangju District Court sentenced A (20), who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (joint assault), to eight months in prison. He was not detained in court as there was no risk of flight or evidence destruction.

B (20), who was also indicted on the same charges, was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year probation.

It is known that A is currently living while helping with his parents' hospital work.

A and another person were brought to trial on charges of assaulting and extorting money from C, who attended the same high school, between November and December 2020.

They sought out C, claiming that C had spoken ill of them, and demanded 800,000 to 1,000,000 KRW for taxi fares, threatening that if the money was not paid within the period, interest would increase by 20,000 KRW per day.

After C fled without paying a significant portion of the money they tried to extort, they caught C again at a restaurant, dragged him to the defendant’s house, and strangled him twice with both hands until he lost consciousness.

They even instructed C to "call your mother and say you need to repay money borrowed from a friend, and have her transfer 550,000 KRW," and collected the money.

The harassment did not stop, and they threatened that C had to pay an additional 270,000 KRW calculated at 20,000 KRW interest per day, but this attempt was unsuccessful.

The total value of the items they have taken so far, including a wallet, hoodie, and laptop, amounts to approximately 1,230,000 KRW.

While A denied the charges, B admitted all charges and showed a remorseful attitude.

A’s defense attorney stated, "C offered to pay compensation for damages caused by spreading false information, so the money was received," and "The hoodie was only taken because they were told to keep it until payment was made, and it was given later."

The attorney also claimed, "B was unaware that the victim’s wallet was taken and was not involved in borrowing the laptop."

He added, "While admitting to the fainting game, it was done because C wanted to, and there was no forced fainting."

However, the judge did not accept A’s side’s claims after comprehensively considering the evidence investigated.

The judge explained regarding A, "The crime is very serious as he threatened the victim to obtain property," and "He not only refuses to admit wrongdoing but also has made no effort to restore the damage."

However, the judge stated the sentencing reasons, "Considering that there is no prior criminal record and taking into account the defendant’s age, motive, and other circumstances."

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