70-Man Sentenced to Prison for Siphoning Fuel from Parked Cars and Tampering with License Plate

A man in his 70s who siphoned diesel from parked vehicles and even altered his own license plate to evade police tracking has ultimately been sent to prison.

Chuncheon District Court announced on the 22nd that Judge Koh Bum-jin, presiding over Criminal Division 2, sentenced 76-year-old A, who was indicted under detention on charges of violating the Automobile Management Act, theft, illegal use of public symbols, and uttering illegally used public symbols, to one year in prison.

A was put on trial for using an oil pump to drain and steal a total of 160 liters of diesel on three occasions from parked vehicles in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, and Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, between March 3 and 10, when fuel prices began to soar.

He is also accused of failing to respond to a police summons issued in early April over the crimes, and instead painting over the number "1" on his vehicle's license plate to turn it into a "7" in an attempt to evade tracking.

In mid-April, he also used a tool to detach a license plate attached to someone else's vehicle in Geochang, South Gyeongsang Province, and stole it.

Judge Koh handed down the prison sentence, stating, "Despite having a history of multiple criminal convictions, the defendant committed these crimes again, making the nature of the offenses grave," and adding, "No restitution has been made for the victims, and he has not been forgiven by them."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.