A man in his 50s who threw punches at a taxi driver on the very day he was released from prison due to the court's leniency has ended up back behind bars.

The 1st Criminal Division of the Jeonju Branch of the Gwangju High Court (Presiding Judge Jung Moon-kyung) announced on October 10 that it sentenced Defendant A (52), who was indicted on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (assault on a driver, etc.), to 1 year and 10 months in prison, upholding the lower court's ruling.

Defendant A was indicted on charges of assaulting a 74-year-old taxi driver, B, inside a moving taxi on a road in Wansan-gu, Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, at around 4:40 PM on March 10.

After boarding the taxi, he used profanity and ordered driver B, saying, "Drive to the Western New Town in Jeonju so I can get some food."

Feeling offended, B told him, "Stop swearing and tell me your exact destination," but was met with punches from the passenger.

Defendant A shouted, "I just got out of the cell today," while brutally beating the face of the driver. B suffered severe injuries, including a broken nasal bone, from the assault.

Defendant A had just been released from prison that day after receiving a suspended prison sentence, having previously been detained for a separate special injury crime.

The appellate court rebuked, "The crime committed by the defendant not only targets a driver but can also cause traffic accidents, inflicting personal and material damage on the unspecified public, thus necessitating strict punishment. Furthermore, the defendant committed the crime on the very day he was released from prison with a suspended sentence, making him even more blameworthy."

The court stated, "Considering that the defendant has repeatedly committed similar crimes, such as threatening his common-law spouse with a weapon, and that he has made no effort to restore the damage suffered by the victim, a prison sentence is inevitable."

(Photo: Yonhap News)