Man Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Sending Meth Slang, Photos to Propose Joint Drug Use

A man who sent messages through a chatting app offering methamphetamine and proposing to use it together, and who actually consumed the drug, has been sentenced to prison.

According to the legal community on the 14th, Judge Oh So-hyun of Criminal Division 1 at the Jeju District Court sentenced a man identified as A, who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Control of Narcotics, to two years in prison and ordered the completion of a 40-hour drug addiction rehabilitation program.

On December 8 of last year, A used slang terms for methamphetamine while chatting with a police officer posing as a buyer on a chatting app, sent a photo of white crystals presumed to be methamphetamine, and sent messages proposing to provide it for joint use. He was put on trial on charges of providing information related to the possession, use, and provision of narcotics to others.

He is also charged with taking methamphetamine at a location in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, in early March.

A claimed that he was merely joking without any actual intent to handle methamphetamine, and that the substance in the photo was solidified caustic soda (sodium hydroxide).

Regarding the drug use charges, although preliminary urine reagent tests and hair tests came back positive, A denied them, claiming they could be false-positive reactions caused by psychiatric medications.

The court stated, "It is recognized that the defendant informed or presented information to others regarding acts prohibited in handling narcotics, such as the possession, use, and provision of methamphetamine," adding, "Whether he actually possessed methamphetamine does not affect the establishment of the crime."

Based on the results of detailed appraisals by the National Forensic Service, the court also found the methamphetamine use charge guilty.

The court explained the sentencing reasoning, stating, "Severe punishment is inevitable as he repeated the same type of crime during the probation/repeat offense period," while adding, "However, we considered factors such as the methamphetamine use being limited to a single instance."

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