Twin Brother Who Lied to Reduce Sentence Despite Being Stabbed by Younger Sibling Receives Suspended Sentence

A twin brother who was sentenced to prison in the first trial for perjury committed on behalf of his younger brother, despite being stabbed multiple times with a weapon by him, received a suspended sentence in the appellate trial.

The Criminal Division 3-2 of Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam announced on the 5th that it overturned the original sentence of 6 months imprisonment for Mr. A, in his 40s, who was tried for perjury, and sentenced him to 6 months imprisonment with a 2-year suspension.

According to the court, Mr. A is accused of committing perjury as a witness in the trial of his twin younger brother, Mr. B, who was indicted for attempted murder in May of last year.

At that time, Mr. A falsely testified that Mr. B had stabbed him once or twice to scare him, and that the other wounds on his body were self-inflicted.

Changwon District Court, Gyeongnam.
Photo by Se-ryeong Lee

Earlier, Mr. B was arrested and tried on charges of attempting to kill Mr. A by stabbing him multiple times with a weapon in January of last year.

From March 21 to May 11 of last year, Mr. B requested Mr. A, who visited him in prison, to commit perjury four times, saying, "The charge of attempted murder should be changed to special injury."

He said, "Even if you give false testimony about the damage, the punishment does not apply to ascendants and family," and "You should testify that you were stabbed weakly once or twice without intent to kill."

On May 12 of last year, Mr. A appeared as a witness in court and testified as requested by Mr. B.

The first trial court stated, "Perjury disrupts the criminal justice process and hinders the proper exercise of the state's punitive power. Considering that Mr. B is the twin younger brother, the nature of the crime is not good," and sentenced Mr. A, who committed perjury, to 6 months imprisonment, and Mr. B, who instigated the perjury, to 1 year imprisonment.

The appellate court stated the sentencing reasons, "Mr. A admitted all the crimes and seems to have had some time for reflection through a certain period of detention," and "There is some room for consideration of the circumstances as he gave false testimony out of a desire that his younger brother would not be severely punished."

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