Be Careful of This Kind of Man on the Express Bus, Suddenly His Hand...

[Financial News]  A man in his 20s who attempted to molest a sleeping woman sitting next to him on a bus but failed was sentenced to a fine in court.
According to the legal community on the 31st, Judge Kim Hyun-jun of the Chuncheon District Court Wonju Branch Criminal Division 1 sentenced Mr. A (28) to a fine of 5 million won for attempted forcible molestation.
Mr. A is accused of attempting to touch the chest of a woman in her 20s, Ms. B, who was asleep next to him on a bus running on the highway on August 4 last year, but the crime was thwarted as Ms. B woke up.
During the trial, Mr. A claimed, "Ms. B's arm kept touching me, so I just stretched out my arm to check if she was really asleep," insisting there was no intent to molest.
However, the court did not accept this, based on the CCTV footage installed on the bus at the time. The footage captured Mr. A looking at Ms. B's face and chest area before stretching out his arm, directing his hand towards Ms. B's chest instead of her face, and Ms. B waking up startled as Mr. A's hand approached her chest.
The court judged, "The act of stretching out a hand to a sexually sensitive area like the chest is against the victim's will and appears to be an attempt at forcible molestation taking advantage of the victim's sleep."
Judge Kim Hyun-jun stated, "The act of Mr. A stretching his arm towards Ms. B's chest is recognized as an act of attempting forcible molestation with intent," and explained the reason for sentencing, "If Ms. B had not opened her eyes, physical contact was likely to have occurred."
Meanwhile, Mr. A has filed an appeal against the first trial's verdict, and the case will be re-evaluated through an appeal trial at the Chuncheon District Court.


jjw@fnnews.com Jung Ji-woo Reporter