"Even though he killed his father..." The story of a son's reduced sentence

[Financial News]  A man in his 30s, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the first trial for killing his father in the Philippines, had his sentence reduced in the appeal trial. The court considered the father's violence. 
According to the legal community on the 4th, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-2 (Presiding Judge Choi Eun-jeong) recently sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted for parricide, to six years in prison. This is a reduction of four years from the first trial.
The court took into account the circumstances of Mr. A's crime. It was considered that Mr. B, the father, habitually verbally abused the family and threatened the mother and younger sister with a weapon on the day of the incident.
In the judgment, the court stated, "It appears that the defendant committed the crime impulsively in extreme panic and anger caused by the victim's actions that induced domestic violence," and "He has deeply reflected after the crime and has shown a willingness to atone for the rest of his life by taking care of the remaining family members."
Additionally, "The defendant's mother and younger sister, despite being victims and bereaved family members, earnestly petitioned for leniency for the defendant, and it was considered that the defendant has no significant criminal record," the court added.
In October 2017, Mr. A was put on trial for hitting his father, who was threatening his mother and younger sister with a weapon, with a frying pan and then strangling him to death at their home in the Philippines.
At the time of the incident, Mr. A's father was preparing to open a Korean restaurant but became enraged due to construction delays, taking out his anger on the family and hitting Mr. A's younger sister in the face. It was found that he swung a weapon from the kitchen at his wife who tried to stop him.
In the process of stopping this, Mr. A's arms were cut by the weapon, and he subsequently struck his father's head with a frying pan from the kitchen and strangled him, leading to his death.
Mr. A's side argued during the trial that "it was self-defense to stop the father from stabbing the mother and younger sister with a weapon, and there was no intent to kill."


scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter