20s Sentenced to Prison for Detaining and Extorting High School Classmate with Intellectual Disability

3 People Brutally Assaulted with Cruelty
Court: "No Sense of Guilt and Serious Cruelty"

Three men in their 20s were sentenced to prison for detaining a high school classmate with intellectual disabilities for more than two weeks and extorting money through various methods.

On the 22nd, the Criminal Division 2 of the Gangneung Branch of Chuncheon District Court (Chief Judge Donghee Lee) sentenced A (22), who was indicted in custody on nine charges including unlawful confinement causing injury, special assault, and joint extortion, to 4 years and 6 months in prison. The court also sentenced accomplices B (22) and C (22) to 3 years and 6 months and 3 years in prison respectively, and ordered their immediate detention in court.

A and the others were tried on charges of detaining and assaulting their high school classmate D (21) while moving between Donghae and Gangneung in Gangwon Province, and Pyeongtaek and Ansan in Gyeonggi Province from September 13 to October 1 of last year, extorting about 10 million won from him.

They extorted the cost of a rental car used in the crime from D, forced him to open a new mobile phone line and then seized it, made multiple small payments using the victim’s phone, and used all sorts of methods to extort money. They also attempted to take out a loan under the victim’s name, and when that failed, forced him to write a false IOU. They impersonated the victim to extort money from the victim’s mother. Additionally, they involved the victim in an insurance fraud scheme related to a traffic accident.

A and the others assaulted D, who has intellectual disabilities, indiscriminately to the point of causing him to lose consciousness and subjected him to inhumane and cruel treatment. As a result, D suffered injuries requiring six weeks of medical treatment, including broken ribs and symptoms of a concussion.

The court stated, "Although A was a classmate of the victim, there was no particular friendship between them, yet he took the lead in planning and executing the crime." It added, "The defendants’ actions are at a level that cannot be understood by common sense and appear to show no sense of guilt whatsoever."

The court further noted, "The defendants knew that the victim had been reported missing to the police and reluctantly released him, but even until the last moment, they attempted insurance fraud. The nature of the crime and the defendants’ violence and cruelty are serious compared to ordinary cases."

Regarding sentencing, the court emphasized, "The victim suffered fractures and other injuries and experienced fear and psychological shock to the extent of feeling his life was threatened. Considering that it will take a long time for the victim to recover, severe punishment is inevitable."

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