Man arrested for setting fire to co-worker's toe

(123rf)

A man in his 30s has been arrested for lighting fire to a piece of paper placed between the toes of a sleeping co-worker, as well as for filming and sharing about the action on social media, local news media reported Wednesday.

The incident occurred on Oct. 12, when the suspect, who works at a bar located in Sangmu-Jigu in Gwangju, put a piece of tissue between his co-workers toes and lit it on fire. He then filmed the scene while sharing the video on his social media account, as well as in the bar's employee chat room.

In the video, the victim in his 20s was asleep and when he noticed his foot was on fire, he began struggling to remove the tissue. The suspect continued to film the victim.

The victim alleges that the suspect had subjected him to similar actions on six occasions.

“The other employee ripped my sock off and kept setting fire to it. He seems to enjoy it and kept doing it," the victim was quoted as saying by local news.

The suspect is said to have shown no remorse when confronted by the victim, and goaded him into calling the police, claiming that he would only need to pay a fine for his actions.

According to police, the victim sustained second-degree burns on his foot that required 6 weeks of medical treatment.

The police plan to send the suspect to the prosecution based on the charge of special violence inflicted on another, they said Thursday.

By Park Ye-eun(park.yeeun@heraldcorp.com)