A man in his 20s was sentenced to a one-year prison term for having repeatedly hit his girlfriend with dangerous objects after she confessed to dating someone else in the past, judicial officials said Wednesday.
The Seoul Central District Court has made the ruling after finding the 23-year-old guilty of having attacked his girlfriend habitually using golf clubs, plastic bottles, mobile phones or tablet PCs since early last year, the officials said.
The beating reportedly started in February last year when the victim spoke of her past dating experiences with someone else before they met. She is said to have been assaulted 18 times between April and July last year.
During the court hearings, the man claimed their relationship has been restored and she actually asked for leniency for him.
But the court ruled that the need to protect the victim from the suspect is greater than the need to respect her wishes.
Unlike in simple assaults, perpetrators of special assault crimes can be punished regardless of the intent of victims. The man has appealed his prison sentence.
Source: Yonhap News Agency