Young Delivery Business Owner Dies After Tripping Over Stone... 50s Public Official Who Threw Stone Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison

Delivery workers are busily moving in front of the Myeongdong Central Post Office water mist fountain in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A public official who threw a curb stone onto the road, causing the death of a passing motorbike rider, was sentenced to four years in prison again in the appellate court.

According to the legal community on the 17th, the Criminal Division 1-2 of the Daejeon High Court (Chief Judge Baek Seung-yeop) sentenced Mr. A, a public official in his 50s who was indicted for injury resulting in death, to four years in prison, the same as the original sentence, yesterday.

On November 6 last year, Mr. A threw a curb stone measuring 44 cm in length and 12 cm in height, which was next to a street tree in Wolpyeong-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon, onto a four-lane road. At that time, Mr. B, a man in his 20s who was riding a motorbike on this road for delivery, could not avoid the curb stone and fell. He was immediately transported to a nearby hospital after the accident but eventually died. Mr. B was known to be a young owner of a snack bar.

The police confirmed from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage near the accident scene that Mr. A threw the curb stone onto the road just before the accident. In addition, after the incident, the Daejeon city government decided to suspend Mr. A from his position as a personnel measure.

However, during the police investigation, Mr. A reportedly stated, "I was drunk at the time and did not realize an accident had occurred," and claimed "there was no intent to commit the crime." He also argued that he was in a state of diminished mental capacity at the time of the incident, citing a history of psychiatric treatment.

On this day, the court ruled, "The original sentence is neither too light nor too heavy and does not exceed the reasonable range of discretion," dismissing both Mr. A's and the prosecution's appeals.

The court explained, "According to the CCTV analysis by the National Forensic Service, considering the speed of the motorbike and other factors, it was foreseeable that the victim would die from head injuries, yet (Mr. A) did not provide aid or call 119 (emergency services)." It added, "He hurriedly left the scene by taking a taxi as if he were a reserved customer, although he had not made a reservation."

Furthermore, the court stated the sentencing rationale: "Although the victim ended his life at a young age, resulting in an irreversible outcome, we comprehensively considered that the defendant had no prior criminal record and that the crime was impulsive."

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