Stealing Cars and Eating Without Paying... 'Habitual Theft' Teens Given Suspended Sentences

[Financial News] Teenage males who repeatedly stole money and goods have been sentenced to suspended imprisonment.
According to the legal community on the 7th, the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 9 (Judge Go So-young) sentenced teenage male A to 8 months in prison with a 2-year suspension, and B to 6 months in prison with a 2-year suspension, for charges including special theft, illegal use of a vehicle, and fraud. They were also ordered to undergo probation and 80 hours of community service.
They were brought to trial on charges of entering stores without people to steal money and goods and driving other people's vehicles without permission.
A and B, in October last year, stole 20,000 won in cash owned by manager C from a parking fee box in a parking lot in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, while C's surveillance was lax. They then opened the door of a parked car, started it, and drove approximately 86 km until the next day.
They continued their theft spree until November of the same year. They opened a bakery storage box to take approximately 400,000 won in cash and broke into another restaurant to open a safe and steal 700,000 won in cash, committing theft or attempted theft a total of 10 times.
Additionally, A and B conspired in advance not to pay at a restaurant in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, pretending to pay normally, and ordered and ate food worth a total of 101,800 won, including beef brisket and yukhoe.
The court pointed out, "The defendants broke into stores by damaging door locks or melting plastic covers with a lighter, and drove parked vehicles at will. Considering the method and nature of the crimes, the nature of the crimes is very poor," and "The stolen money was used for motel fees or entertainment expenses, and no restitution has been made."
It continued, "Especially, despite receiving juvenile protective measures several times for similar offenses, they committed the crimes, and the dine-and-dash fraud was committed after being arrested and questioned for special theft and attempted special theft," adding, "The defendants' guilt is heavy, making harsh punishment inevitable, but considering they confessed to each crime and are minors under 18 with potential for behavioral improvement, the sentence was determined."

welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yu-ha Reporter