A man in his 40s, who slapped and knocked down a teenage middle school girl whom he had never met before at a restaurant, received a heavier suspended prison sentence in his appeal, replacing the fine he was given in the first trial.

According to the legal community on the 6th, the 4-1 Criminal Appellate Division of the Busan District Court (Presiding Judge Jung Sungho) overturned the lower court's ruling, which had sentenced the man in his 40s, Defendant, to a fine of 5 million won on charges of violating the Child Welfare Act (child abuse) and assault, and instead sentenced him to eight months in prison suspended for two years.

Defendant was put on trial for assaulting a middle school girl, B, whom he did not know at all (then aged 13), at a restaurant in Geumjeong-gu, Busan, at around 6:00 PM on November 1 of last year.

At the time, Defendant approached behind B and hit her right cheek hard with his hand while she was sitting in a chair.

Due to the sudden assault, B fell to the floor along with her chair.

The first-trial court sentenced him to a fine of 5 million won, taking into consideration that Defendant admitted to and reflected on his crime, and that mental illness appeared to be a contributing factor to the offense.

However, the prosecution appealed, arguing that the sentence was too light, and the appellate court accepted this.

The appellate court stated, "The nature of the crime is poor as he assaulted a middle school girl with whom he had no prior acquaintance, and the degree of assault is not light." It added, "It is considered that the victimized child suffered significant mental shock as well as physical pain, yet he has not received forgiveness from her."

The court further explained, "The defendant appears to need psychiatric medical treatment during the probation period, but the materials submitted to the lower court and this court are insufficient to recognize that he was in a state of mental disorder," adding, "Instead of issuing a treatment order, we impose receiving psychiatric medical treatment as a special compliance matter of probation."
(Photo: Yonhap News)