The survivors of victim A, who died after being sexually assaulted on a hiking trail in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, said, “It is a murder case. Please punish the perpetrators severely.” The police are considering changing the charges of the suspect Choi (30) and disclosing his identity.
According to the police on the 19th, victim A was treated in a hospital in a critical condition after the incident, but could not endure and died. It is known that Mr. A is an elementary school teacher.
Suspect Choi is accused of assaulting and raping a woman in her 30s on a mountain trail in Sillim-dong on the morning of the 17th, wearing knuckles (a metal blunt 메이저놀이터tool worn on her fingers) in both hands. The police were dispatched to the scene at 11:44 a.m. on the same day as a report from a hiker who heard screams for help, and arrested Mr. Choi at 12:10 p.m.
According to police investigation, Choi purchased the knuckle used in the crime through the Internet in April, and when asked about her motive for the crime, she said, “I wanted to rape her.”
Victim A and Choi had no one-on-one relationship. According to the police, he often visited the hiking trail where he committed the crime because it was close to his house , and he knew that there was no closed circuit ( CC ) TV nearby . At the time of the crime, there was no evidence that Choi was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The police are investigating with a weight on ‘premeditated crime’.
The victim’s older brother, Mr. B, told the media, “The place where his younger brother lived was not far from the site of the previous weapon riot.”
It is known that Mr. B asked the police to “severely punish Mr. Choi as a murder suspect.”
With the death of the victim, the police plan to change the charges of rape, etc., to charges of rape, etc.
The police plan to intensively investigate whether Choi had the intention to kill Mr. A at the time of the crime and whether he assaulted him while knowing that he could die. If he had intent to kill or perceived that he could die, charges of murder, including rape, would apply. If it is judged that the death could not be predicted, only the responsibility for the death is acknowledged, and rape, etc.
Under the Punishment of Sexual Violence Act, the crime of rape, etc. is ‘life imprisonment or imprisonment for more than 10 years’, and the statutory penalty is the same as the crime of injury such as rape. On the other hand, rape and murder are punishable only by death or life imprisonment.
In addition, the police are considering disclosing Choi’s identity.