Accessing Families of Intellectually Disabled, 40s Man Embezzled Tens of Millions Over 2 Years '7 Years Imprisonment'

Gyeonggi Northern Disability Rights Advocacy Agency, Investigation and Prosecution After Receiving Reports

Crimes against people with disabilities are not decreasing. Graphic production by Gyeonggi Northern Region Disability Rights Advocacy Agency

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] A man in his 40s who approached a family with an intellectual disability, lived with them for two years, exploited disability pensions, and arbitrarily used a credit card in the victim's name to embezzle tens of millions of won in assets was sentenced to seven years in prison by the court following a complaint from the Gyeonggi Northern Region Disability Rights Advocacy Agency.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 28th, the court recently sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted on charges including violation of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities (neglect), fraud, quasi-fraud, theft, coercion, and computer-related fraud, to seven years in prison.

Mr. A met Ms. B (26), a woman with an intellectual disability, through a chat application around September 2019, and after confirming that she lived with her intellectually disabled mother and older brother, approached her with a proposal to marry.

Subsequently, Mr. A cut off Ms. B’s interactions with other family members such as her maternal uncle and disability activity supporters, withdrew cash from accounts in the victim’s name, and used check cards, thereby obtaining tens of millions of won in financial benefits.

He also transferred cash from accounts receiving disability pensions, provincial disability allowances, and disability heating and cooling subsidies in Ms. B’s name to accounts in his or others’ names, and canceled the older brother’s retirement pension to embezzle the cancellation fee.

In particular, when Ms. B’s older brother continuously raised issues with Mr. A, he subjected him to physical and mental abuse, including forcing him to live alone in a one-room apartment.

However, Mr. A’s despicable acts were exposed to the public when Ms. B’s maternal uncle reported the matter to the Gyeonggi Northern Region Disability Rights Advocacy Agency in December last year.

After conducting its own investigation, the Gyeonggi Northern Region Disability Rights Advocacy Agency judged this case as clear economic exploitation of a person with a disability and filed a complaint against Mr. A in April of this year.

Kim Young-hee, Director of the Disability Welfare Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "This case serves as a wake-up call regarding awareness of disability abuse, and Gyeonggi Province is the only region in the country operating two Disability Rights Advocacy Agencies."

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