Constitutional Appeal Filed for Developmentally Disabled Individual Charged with Special Larceny Over 1,500-Won Ice Cream

The family members of a developmentally disabled individual who received a suspension of indictment on special larceny charges after sharing a 1,500-won ice cream without paying at a convenience store have filed a constitutional appeal seeking to overturn the decision.

According to the legal community, representatives for the 34-year-old developmentally disabled individual, identified as A, recently filed a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court, claiming that the prosecutors' suspension of indictment infringed upon their rights to equality and the pursuit of happiness.

A, who has a grade 2 intellectual disability, and B, a former classmate from a special school, were investigated by police on charges of taking a 1,500-won ice cream from an outdoor freezer at a convenience store in Busanjin-gu, Busan, in June and sharing it without paying.

The Busan Busanjin Police Station applied special larceny charges—applicable when two or more people commit theft jointly—and forwarded the case to prosecutors.

Prosecutors issued a suspension of indictment, taking into consideration that the criminal facts were acknowledged, both individuals were first-time offenders, they reached a settlement with the victim, and the amount of damage was small.

However, A's side argued that it is difficult to recognize the conspiracy between the two individuals which serves as a prerequisite for the crime of special larceny, and that A's disability characteristics and communication abilities were not sufficiently considered during the investigation process.

A psychological evaluation at a medical institution showed A's intelligence quotient (IQ) to be around 50.

A's family claimed, "While the police suspect interrogation protocol is written in sentence form stating that A confessed to 'stealing and eating it together,' A is in a state where it is difficult to properly understand questions or express thoughts in sentence forms." They added, "In B's case, B cannot even speak properly, yet the police investigation records three lines of statements in sentences."

They further argued, "It is difficult to accept the reliability of the suspect interrogation protocol written by the police as it is, and prosecutors also issued the suspension of indictment without sufficiently verifying A's communication abilities."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.