CHANGWON — A man in his 40s who stabbed his landlord after being pressed over months of unpaid rent had his 16-year prison sentence reduced on appeal.
The first criminal division of the Changwon branch of the Busan High Court, presided over by Judge Park Kwang-seo, overturned the lower court's ruling on the 16th and sentenced the defendant, identified only as A, to 12 years in prison on a charge of attempted murder.
A was indicted for stabbing his landlord, a man in his 50s identified as B, at a house in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, on Sept. 18 last year. At the time, A had failed to pay 16 months' worth of rent.
On the day of the attack, when B followed A into the house while demanding the overdue rent, A brought a knife from the kitchen and placed it on the living room table. A then stabbed B after B confronted him over the unpaid rent.
B suffered severe damage to blood vessels and internal organs and was rushed to a hospital by paramedics. He later underwent major surgery and reportedly continues to suffer serious aftereffects.
A, who has 22 prior criminal offenses including two convictions for violence, had claimed during the investigation and the first trial that B had inflicted the wounds on himself.
The lower court sentenced A to 16 years, saying the victim survived only because the knife happened to miss vital areas and because emergency treatment and hospital transport were not delayed. It said the case warranted punishment nearly equivalent to that for murder.
A appealed, arguing the sentence was excessively heavy. At the appellate stage, he withdrew the claim that B had harmed himself and admitted all the charges.
The appeals court said the culpability was very heavy given the gravity of the crime, even though it was not completed. But it said it took into account that the attack appeared to have been committed on the spur of the moment and that A had tried to limit the harm by giving the victim emergency aid and calling 119, the emergency number, immediately afterward.
