Wallet Disappeared After Sitting on It... Man in His Sixties Acquitted of Theft on Appeal

"No CCTV Footage of Picking Up and Taking the Wallet"

A man in his sixties, who had been fined in the first trial for sitting on and then secretly taking a wallet left on a bus seat, was acquitted on appeal.

First Trial: "Sat on the wallet without moving it"…Guilty Verdict

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Pixabay

According to Yonhap News Agency on April 20, the Criminal Division 5-2 of the Changwon District Court (Presiding Judge Han Nara) overturned the original ruling that had fined a man in his sixties, identified as A, 500,000 won for misappropriation of lost property and found him not guilty. A had been indicted for taking a wallet containing 200,000 won in cash on a bus in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, on August 29, 2024.

However, the bus's closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage did not capture A actually picking up or taking the wallet, which became a key issue. The footage only showed A sitting directly on the seat where the wallet was placed, shifting his hips for a while, alternately placing and removing both hands under his hips, and moving his bag or brushing the seat with his hand.

The first trial court, based on the CCTV footage, stated, "A was already looking at the wallet before sitting down, did not move it but sat on it, and the wallet disappeared after he got up," concluding that A took the wallet and finding him guilty.

Appeals Court: "No prior convictions, unclear motive for A to take the wallet"

The judgment changed in the appeals court. The appellate panel stated, "There is no CCTV footage of A directly picking up or taking the wallet, no investigation was conducted regarding the other passengers, and no eyewitness saw A take the wallet." The court further explained, "From the investigation stage through to the appeal, A has consistently maintained that he did not pick up the wallet."

The court added, "The victim's wallet was not of significant monetary value, and A, who has no prior criminal record and earns a living as a childcare provider for his grandchild, would not have a clear motive to take the risk of criminal punishment for such an act." The court also found it credible that "A's shifting movements were due to the discomfort of the shorts he was wearing and the lunchbox he was carrying at the time," and thus acquitted him.

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