Factory owner sentenced to 3 years for air gun assault on migrant worker
Suwon District Court / Korea Times file
A manufacturing company owner accused of severely injuring a migrant worker by firing high-pressure air from an industrial air gun into his body has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Judge Koo Na-young of the Suwon District Court on Thursday sentenced the owner of a metal-cleaning company, a man in his 60s identified only as A, to three years in prison on charges of aggravated bodily injury and violations of the Labor Standards Act. The court dismissed the case against A's wife, identified as B, who had been charged with intimidation.
A was indicted on charges of placing the nozzle of an industrial air gun against the anal area of C, a Thai man in his 40s, and blasting high-pressure air for about seven seconds at his factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Feb. 20.
C suffered injuries including a traumatic rectal perforation measuring more than 10 centimeters and underwent surgery.
A was also accused of threatening C, who needed emergency surgery, by saying, "Illegal immigrant, police," suggesting that he would report C to police for his undocumented immigration status unless he returned to his home country.
A's lawyers acknowledged that he had fired the air gun about three times as a prank but denied part of the charges, saying, "It is true that he sprayed air about three times as a joke, but he did not insert the nozzle into the victim's anus and inject air for seven seconds." The court rejected the argument.
"Considering the victim's consistent testimony and medical records, it is established that the defendant held the victim by the waist with one hand, inserted the nozzle into his anus and sprayed air for seven or eight seconds," the court said. "The victim resisted, saying, 'It hurts,' but the defendant did not stop."
The court also said A showed no remorse after the incident and was reluctant to provide treatment for C's injuries.
"Although the defendant was told by the hospital where the victim received treatment that he needed immediate surgery at a higher-level hospital, he urged the victim to leave the country that night in an attempt to conceal the incident," Koo said. "The seriousness of the offense is compounded by the fact that A deducted medical expenses resulting from his own actions from C's wages."
As for B, the court dismissed the case because the intimidation charge cannot be prosecuted against the victim's wishes and C had said he did not want her to be punished.
At the final hearing last month, prosecutors sought a seven-year prison sentence for A and a one-year prison sentence for B.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.