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| A local court on Friday sentenced a man to 20 months in prison for attacking passengers on the subway after he was asked to wear a face mask, on Aug. 27, 2020. / Screen captured from YouTube |
By Lee Hyo-jin
A local court has sentenced a man to 20 months in prison for attacking other passengers on the subway after he was asked to wear a face mask.
The Seoul Southern District Court handed down the ruling, Friday, to the 58-year-old man who was convicted of physical and verbal assault.
The crime took place on Seoul's subway line 2 near Dangsan station around 7:25 a.m., Aug. 27, 2020. After a nearby passenger called out to the man, who was talking loudly without a mask, and asked him to wear one, he began to attack the passenger.
The man slapped the victim's face with his slipper multiple times, and attempted to strangle another passenger who tried to intervene in the physical conflict. The victims were left with injuries requiring three weeks of medical treatment.
A video of the incident immediately spread online, raising public anger over the man's violent behavior.
During the trial, the accused asked the court for lenient punishment citing his medical record of mental illness, which was taken into consideration in the ruling.
"The accused has not been forgiven by the victims. He caused damage not only to the two victims, but also to many other passengers by causing a disturbance when they were on the subway during their morning commute," said the court in its ruling.
