A fraudster who went on the run after being handed a final prison sentence while being tried without detention has been arrested by prosecutors just three days before the statute of limitations on the execution of his sentence was set to expire.

The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office announced on the 21st that it had apprehended a 58-year-old male surnamed A, who had an unexecuted prison sentence of eight months confirmed for fraud charges.

An unexecuted sentence subject refers to someone who has been sentenced to prison time such as penal servitude or imprisonment by a court, but has gone into hiding or fled before being taken into custody.

A, a contractor, deceived an acquaintance between March and April 2017 by promising to return money once he received construction payments, swindling approximately 24 million won.

A, who never once attended his trial, went into hiding for about seven years after his eight-month prison sentence was finalized in August 2019, cutting off contact even with his family.

While questioning acquaintances recently, prosecutors identified the mobile phone used by A and tracked his movements, eventually arresting him at a highway rest stop on the 18th.

The day of the arrest was just three days before the statute of limitations on A's sentence execution would have expired.

The statute of limitations on the execution of a sentence is a criminal law provision distinct from the statute of limitations for prosecution, whereby the penalty is exempted if a certain period passes without execution after a prison sentence or other penalty is finalized by a court.

For prison sentences or imprisonments of less than three years like A's, the statute of limitations on the sentence is seven years.

An official from the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office stated, "We will do our utmost to realize the state's sentencing authority by actively apprehending individuals with long-term unexecuted prison sentences."

(Photo: Yonhap News)