Intensified sanctions are to be imposed on phone fraud and robberies resulting in physical injuries, according to prosecutors Monday.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office announced a set of reinforced investigation guidelines, obliging its officials to demand a maxim penalty upon main culprits of the corresponding crimes without exception. The new rule also states that all accomplices are to be taken into custody in principle.

The jail term for phone scams will be 10 years for main culprits, seven years for leading accomplices and five years for simple conspirators.

Those liable for robberies resulting in physical injuries will be placed under custody and face a jail term of at least seven years. Should the victim suffer an injury that takes 12 weeks or more to recover from, a minimum term of 10 years is to be demanded.

Additional penalties will be called upon those who assaulted the physically vulnerable, such as women, children, the disabled and the elderly, or upon those with previous criminal convictions, according to officials.

According to National Police Agency data, phone fraud has been on a steady rise since 2007, standing at 7,239 cases as of the end of last year. The number of accomplices and the amount of damages, too, has been increasing over the same period.

“The given crimes, inflicting tangible damages to the safety and assets of the people, require systematic and severe punishment,” said an official of the SPO.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)