Man lies to police about committing crimes, gets prison term

A 46-year-old man who filed 112 fake reports to the police in the span of about 10 months was sentenced to 10 months in prison, Jeonju District Court said Wednesday.

The defendant filed the fake reports between November of 2022 and September of 2023, falsely claiming that he killed a man, or that he stabbed an acquaintance with a knife.

An appellate court of the case found the defendant guilty of obstruction of performance of official duties by fraudulent means, stipulated by Article 137 of the Criminal Act and punishable by up to five years in prison or 10 million won ($7,300) fine.

A lower court ruling originally handed him a one-year sentence saying, “The defendant's fake reports wasted efforts by public officials, which should be used to protect the citizens... Such actions can prevent people who actually need help from getting it."

However, the appellate court reduced the punishment, taking into consideration the fact that this is the first time he has been charged with such a crime and that he has pleaded guilty.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)