"Rather Go to Prison"... Teen Sets Fire to Avoid School and Military Service

Court Sentences to 3 Years Imprisonment with 5 Years Probation

A teenager who set fire to a multi-family house, saying he would rather go to prison due to the burdens of schoolwork and military enlistment, was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

On the 15th, the Criminal Division 6 of the Busan District Court (Chief Judge Kim Yong-gyun) sentenced teenager A, who was charged with arson of an occupied building, to three years in prison with a five-year suspension and issued a probation order, according to Yonhap News and others. A was tried for entering two multi-family houses in Busanjin-gu, Busan, on April 2 and 24, respectively, pouring gasoline purchased in advance from a gas station, and setting them on fire with a lighter.

[Photo by Pixabay]

A had previously decided to set fire to someone else’s building around March, thinking he wanted to go to prison due to the burdens of schoolwork and military enlistment. It was reported that he chose multi-family houses near a police box as the arson sites to make it easy for the crime to be detected. Fortunately, there were no casualties from the two arson incidents, but parts of the buildings were damaged by fire.

The court stated, "Arson crimes carry a very high risk of causing multiple casualties and huge property damage," and pointed out, "The defendant also prepared for the crime last year with the intention of going to prison and was investigated by the police, so there is a high need for severe punishment."

However, the court explained the sentencing reasons, saying, "Considering that A is a first-time offender and a minor, that he set fire to a building next to a police box to make the crime easily detectable, that no casualties occurred and the property damage was not significant, that he voluntarily reported immediately after the second crime, and that he reached a settlement with some of the victims."

Cases of committing arson crimes with the intention of going to prison are not uncommon. Previously, in June 2020 in Incheon, a man in his 60s was sentenced to prison for setting fire to buildings such as a hospital three times in one night with the intention of going to prison. It was investigated that this man committed arson crimes because he wanted to be incarcerated due to financial difficulties. In November 2019 in Ulsan, a man in his 20s, having no place to live, decided to enter prison and set fire to parked vehicles and construction sites one after another, receiving a suspended prison sentence.

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