A man in his 20s has been sentenced to prison for attempting to murder his mother with a blunt object to hide his massive gambling debts.
The Incheon District Court, presided over by Judge Son Seung-beom of the 14th Criminal Division, announced on June 30 that it had sentenced the 28-year-old defendant, identified as A, to five years in prison for attempted parricide.
A was indicted on charges of attempting to murder his 57-year-old mother, B, by striking her head more than 10 times with a blunt object at their apartment in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, at 8:30 a.m. on February 19.
His father, who was taking a nap at the time, woke up to the sound of screaming and intervened, but B was already suffering from heavy bleeding.
Investigations revealed that A had been addicted to sports gambling since 2023, taking out bank loans and losing all of the 200 million won he had borrowed from his mother under the pretext of paying off his debts.
After losing even the money from his mother's account to gambling, he lied to her, claiming, "I still have money in my account, but it is frozen, so I cannot pay back the loans."
It was discovered that he committed the crime to prevent his lies from being exposed after his mother demanded they go to the bank the day before the incident to verify the funds in his account.
Before the crime, he even used an artificial intelligence (AI) application to research the method and consequences of his actions, asking questions such as, "What happens if you are hit hard on the head with a blunt object?" and "Is it more dangerous to be hit on the side or the back?"
Despite the attack, B appeared in court as a witness and requested leniency, stating, "I received hospital treatment after the 119 emergency services arrived, and I was not seriously injured at the time. I do not wish for my son to be punished."
A's father also submitted a petition requesting leniency for his son.
The court stated, "This is an anti-humanitarian crime in which the defendant attempted to murder his own mother," adding, "The motive and circumstances are very poor, as he squandered the money his mother lent him on gambling and committed the crime to hide it."
The court further noted, "The defendant researched specific methods and consequences of the crime using an AI app, clearly recognizing and accepting the possibility that his mother could die during the process. A punishment commensurate with the gravity and seriousness of the crime is necessary."
However, the court explained the sentencing decision by stating, "We took into account that the mother and father submitted petitions for leniency and that the defendant is a first-time offender with no prior criminal record."