Soldier fined for asking women to 'spit on him'

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A soldier was fined for sexual harassment, asking random women on the street to spit on him.

The soldier was fined 150,000 won ($115) by the military court under violation of the Minor Offense Law on Monday.

In October, the soldier approached a 27-year-old woman in a residential area in Busan, inquiring as to whether she was a smoker and then asking her to spit on him.

Then he is reported to had said, "Can you spit on me? If that's too much, could I have the cigarette end when you are done?"

A week later, the soldier cornered another pedestrian in her 20s and showed her a note on his phone that read: "I want to smoke so bad. Please spit on me." Then he kneeled down and asked her to spit on his face.

In both instances the soldier followed the women.

The military court issued a fine for both cases. If the soldier fails to pay the fine, the fine will be transformed to one day of detention in a military prison workhouse per 10,000 won unpaid.

The court said that the soldier is guilty of making victims feel uncomfortable with his requests for his own sexual satisfaction and for blocking their passage. However, his sentence was reduced due to the fact that the defendant acknowledges his wrongdoing and has no previous criminal record other than a juvenile incident, the court said.

Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that makes someone feel offended, humiliated or intimidated. In the case of this incident, the punishment level was reduced as his "repetitive" behavior was not taken into account.

By Choi Jeong-yoon(jychoi@heraldcorp.com)