Why Was a Man in His 30s Acquitted of Attempted Trespassing After Fleeing Following Entry into a Villa?

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] At 10 p.m. on February 17 last year, Ms. A, a woman living in Jung-gu, Seoul, pressed the password for the shared entrance on the first floor of her villa to enter her home. At that moment, a man standing nearby suddenly followed Ms. A into the building. Startled, Ms. A shouted, and the man immediately fled the scene.

The man who startled Ms. A, Mr. B (36), was soon caught by the police. He lived in an apartment quite far from Ms. A’s villa. The prosecution indicted him on charges of attempted trespassing.

According to Article 319, Paragraph 1 of the current Criminal Act, "Anyone who intrudes into another person's residence or managed building shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 5 million won." Under Article 322 of the same law, attempted trespassing is also subject to criminal punishment, and mitigation for attempt is at the discretion of the court.

In court, Mr. B’s side argued that "he was heavily intoxicated at the time and simply mistook Ms. A’s villa for the building where he lives."

The first trial court acquitted Mr. B, stating that "there was no criminal intent." The court added, "There is room to see that the defendant, in a heavily intoxicated state, mistook the building for his own home and tried to enter it," and "Based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecution, it cannot be concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to enter another person's residence with criminal intent."

In fact, CCTV evidence showed that Mr. B staggered with his head down for about an hour at the time of the incident and fell heavily to the ground. He also bumped alone into a truck parked in front of his apartment. The fact that Mr. B did not show any behavior to quickly leave the scene after being witnessed, that he did not initially follow Ms. A closely before approaching the villa, and that another man was smoking right next to the villa’s parking space at the time?making it generally unlikely for a crime to be premeditated?were also grounds for the acquittal.

According to the legal community on the 7th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 8-3 (Presiding Judge Jang Yunseon) recently upheld the first trial’s judgment and dismissed the prosecution’s appeal. Since the prosecution did not file a further appeal, this ruling has become final.

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