"Look Down on Me?" Attack by Man in His 70s With Brick After Inn Manager's Warning

▲ Exterior view of Suwon District Court and Suwon High Court

A man in his 70s who swung a weapon at an inn manager, harboring a grudge after being told not to heat rice during the dawn hours, has received a heavy prison sentence upheld in his appellate trial.

According to the legal community on the 23rd, the Suwon High Court dismissed the appeal filed by a man in his 70s, identified as A, who was indicted on charges of attempted murder and property destruction, upholding the 8-year prison sentence handed down in the first trial.

A is accused of smashing a counter window at an inn in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, in July of last year with a brick, and then swinging a weapon he had prepared in advance multiple times at a manager in his 50s, identified as B, who came outside, in an attempt to kill him.

Investigations revealed that A, a long-term guest at the inn, held a grudge, believing he was being looked down upon, after B told him several months before the crime to refrain from heating rice during the dawn hours.

Even after leaving the inn, A reportedly continued to cause disturbances whenever he ran into B on the street, such as hurling insults and grabbing him by the collar. On the day of the crime, he gathered a weapon from his residence and went to the inn with the intent to kill, according to authorities.

At the time, A shattered the inn's counter window with a brick, and when B came out, swung a weapon at him, inflicting severe injuries on B's thigh that required four weeks of medical treatment.

Afterwards, A got on top of the fallen B to continue the attack before being restrained by another guest.

During the trial, A argued that he merely stabbed the thigh and had no intention to kill, but the court's judgment was different.

The appellate court stated the reason for dismissing the appeal, noting, "Given that he rushed forward while stabbing with the weapon indiscriminately across upper and lower body parts, it would have posed a major threat to life had there been no intervention from bystanders," and added, "Intent to kill by dolus eventualis is recognized."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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