A group of people in their 20s who made a false report to emergency dispatch to lure and evade police, leading to a high-speed motorcycle chase, have been sentenced to prison terms with probation.

Chuncheon District Court Judge Koh Beom-jin, presiding over Criminal Single Division 2, announced today (October 12) that Defendant A (22), indicted on charges including obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for four years, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

Accomplices B (22) and C (22), who were put on trial alongside A, were each sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, while D (22) received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. Each of them was also ordered to complete 80 hours of community service.

In the early hours of June 21, the group repeatedly made false reports to emergency services, claiming, "There appear to be minors riding four motorcycles without license plates and driving acrobatically." Nine police officers and four patrol cars were dispatched to the scene.

Ignoring police orders to stop, Defendant A and the others fled across the centerline while hurling insults, continuing their dangerous race until one of their motorcycles collided with a patrol car at around 2:54 AM.

Two days later, Defendant A conspired with D to attach a deactivated license plate to a motorcycle to evade enforcement, and operated the motorcycle with the plate on seven occasions.

It was also revealed that they operated motorcycles eight times without mandatory insurance.

Judge Koh stated, "The culpability is high as they disrupted the legitimate duties of police officers handling emergency dispatch work and have not been forgiven by the victimized officers." However, the judge added, "The sentences were determined by taking into consideration that they admitted to the crimes and have no prior records of punishment for similar offenses."

Meanwhile, six teenagers who participated in the crime alongside the defendants have been referred to the juvenile division of the Chuncheon District Court.

(Photo: Yonhap News)