The Korea Herald

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1 year prison sought for assault with rock in Jeju City

By Lim Jae-seong

Published : March 10, 2023 - 17:38

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The suspect (left circle) runs away, leaving the victim lying in the road, after hitting him with a rock (right circle) in Jeju City, Jan. 31. (Jeju Dongbu Police Station) The suspect (left circle) runs away, leaving the victim lying in the road, after hitting him with a rock (right circle) in Jeju City, Jan. 31. (Jeju Dongbu Police Station)

Prosecutors are seeking one year of imprisonment for a 24-year-old man accused of smashing an unacquainted man’s face with a rock in Jeju City on Jan. 31.

The man was caught on security footage hitting the victim with a rock and then fleeing the scene. The victim was watching a street performance at the time. The victim and the assailant appeared to not be connected in any way. Police found that the suspect had been drinking before the assault and battery scene.

The victim, in his 20s, suffered injuries that included a fracture in the face requiring around three weeks of treatment.

The suspect turned out to be in need of treatment for severe clinical depression and post-traumatic stress disorder caused by another battery case where he was the victim a year prior, according to police.

The suspect was caught 10 hours after fleeing the scene and denied his involvement, according to police. He claimed to have been drunk and could not remember anything, according to local media reports.

But the suspect apologized to “the victim who suffers grave injury and shock” and requested a favorable ruling, vowing to quit drinking at the trial.

The criminal court is to rule on the case on March 24.