Caught Stealing Bread, Chewing on the Spot... "Side Effects of Diet Pills"

30s Woman Sentenced for Habitual Theft
Mental Illness Due to Pentamine Misuse
Estimated Total Damage 2.6 Million KRW

A woman in her 30s who was prosecuted for habitual theft of goods from bakeries, unmanned stores, and goshiwons was sentenced to prison. Investigations revealed that the woman committed the crimes due to side effects from 'excessive intake of diet pills.'

The Criminal Division 11 of Daejeon District Court (Chief Judge Choi Seok-jin) sentenced A (36) to 1 year and 6 months in prison for charges including nighttime trespassing and theft, and also ordered treatment detention, Yonhap News reported on the 22nd.

A is accused of repeatedly stealing food, jewelry, and clothes from unmanned stores, wedding banquet rooms, goshiwons, and one-room apartments in Seoul and Daejeon since 2021. The first incident occurred at 2:25 a.m. on October 24 of that year, when she stole two snacks from a mart in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Habitual theft. [Image source=Yonhap News]

A’s acts became increasingly bold. On October 4 last year, she took bread from a display case at a bakery in Seo-gu, Daejeon without paying and brought it to a table. When an employee noticed and stopped her, she ate the bread on the spot and left.

She is also charged with fraud for eating at restaurants without paying 16 times over three months starting from May of the same year.

The total estimated damage from these acts is about 2.6 million won.

At the time, A was taking diet pills to lose weight. It was reported that she abused the medication by swallowing dozens of pills at once, and due to side effects of the pills, she committed the crimes in a state of impaired ability to distinguish objects.

Diet pills typically contain phentermine, an appetite suppressant. Phentermine can stimulate the central nervous system when abused, causing side effects such as anxiety, dizziness, insomnia, and psychotic seizures.

Regarding this, the court stated, "The defendant developed schizophrenia due to excessive intake of diet pills, and it appears that the psychological state caused by this mental illness influenced the crimes. However, even considering the impact of the mental illness, the defendant repeatedly committed crimes targeting small business owners, has a history of multiple punishments for similar offenses, committed the crimes during the recidivism period, and most of the damages have not been compensated."

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