"I Will Temper My Wife": Why a Man Wandered with a Weapon After Reporting to Police

A man in his 40s who wandered around his neighborhood armed with a weapon with the intent to murder his wife, who had left home, has been sentenced to a prison term with probation.

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 suspended for two years on charges of preparing to commit murder.

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

Investigations revealed that after attempting to contact his wife—who had left home three days prior—and filing a missing person report with the police, A decided to kill her because he believed she was mocking him.

While wandering with the weapon, A directly called 112, stated his name, and reported, "I will temper my wife," leading to his arrest at the scene by police officers who arrived 10 minutes later.

A has a prior record of being sentenced to prison with probation in 2018 for threatening an individual identified as B with a weapon.

The court explained its sentencing reasoning by stating, "We took into account that the defendant appears to be suffering from mental illness and did not actually seem to have the intent to kill, given that he directly called the police immediately after the crime."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
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