"I Will Temper My Wife": Why a Man Roamed Around With a Weapon After Reporting Her Missing

A man in his 40s who roamed around his neighborhood with a weapon, intending to kill his wife who had left home, has been sentenced to prison with a suspended execution.

Judge Byeon Seong-hwan of Criminal Division 4 at the Busan District Court sentenced a man in his 40s, identified as A, to one year in prison with a two-year probation on charges of preparing to commit murder.

A was indicted on charges of preparing for murder after taking a weapon from his home in Yeongdo-gu, Busan, in August 2024 and roaming nearby roads while waiting for his wife, who had left home, to return.

Investigations showed that A had tried to contact his wife—who left home three days prior—and filed a missing person report with the police, before deciding to kill her after coming to believe that she was mocking him.

While roaming around with the weapon, A directly called 112, stated his name, and reported, "I will temper my wife," before being arrested at the scene by police officers who arrived 10 minutes later.

A also has a past record of being sentenced to prison with a suspended execution in 2018 for threatening an individual, B, with a weapon.

The court explained its sentencing rationale, stating, "We took into consideration the facts that the defendant appears to be suffering from a mental illness, and that he directly reported himself to the police immediately after the crime, making it appear unlikely that he actually intended to commit murder."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
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