A man in his 20s has been sentenced to prison for smoking synthetic cannabis in a police station parking lot just after being released from police questioning over suspected drug use.
The Ulsan District Court sentenced the man in his 20s, identified as A, to three years in prison on charges including violations of the Narcotics Control Act, and ordered him to complete 40 hours of a drug addiction rehabilitation program.
In late February of this year, A had stopped his vehicle on a road in Ulsan and remained motionless, prompting a report that led police to take him into custody.
Police conducted a breathalyzer test on A, but with no blood alcohol concentration detected, they suspected drug use and administered a preliminary reagent test.
The test result at the time was negative, and A was sent home.
However, less than 10 minutes after A left the police station, another report was filed stating that a car was blocking the road again.
Inside the vehicle, A was sitting with glazed eyes and showed no response to police demands to get out of the car.
Police reached their arms through a slightly cracked driver-side window, opened the door, and got A out of the vehicle, where multiple cartridges presumed to contain synthetic cannabis were found.
When questioned by police, A confessed that he had smoked synthetic cannabis in the police station parking lot.
The court stated the sentencing rationale, saying, "The defendant committed the crime while serving a probation and under probation supervision period for similar offenses, and is denying most of the crimes with hard-to-accept excuses."
Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Kim Kihyun | Design by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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