2013-01-16 18:59
Life imprisonment confirmed for Korean-Chinese murderer
By Na Jeong-ju
The Supreme Court confirmed Wednesday a sentence of life imprisonment for Wu Yuanchun, a Korean-Chinese man who murdered a 28-year-old woman at his home in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, in April last year after kidnapping her. The 43-year-old man was also convicted of raping her twice before killing her. Prosecutors said he later carved 365 pieces of flesh from her body, triggering speculation that he engaged in the trade of human flesh. A district court earlier handed down a death penalty to Wu, but this sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by an appellate court, which cited a lack of evidence showing the murder was premeditated and that he intended to sell her flesh. The highest court upheld the appellate court’s ruling. The victim’s family expressed anger at the court, saying such a “demon” like Wu deserved capital punishment, but judges were too lenient. “We don’t understand why the state should spend valuable taxpayers’ money on keeping him in a prison,” a family member told reporters. The family earlier filed a compensation suit against the government after it was found that police failed to come to her rescue despite her emergency 119 calls for help. The Supreme Court also upheld the lower court’s order that Wu wear an electronic anklet for 30 years and a public disclosure of his profile for 10 years if he is released from prison on parole in the future. |
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