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| ▲ In this file photo, the 32-year-old suspect in a deadly dating violence case stands in front of journalists following a hearing at the Seoul Western District Court on Sept. 15, 2021. (Yonhap) |
court-dating violence
7-yr prison term upheld for 32-yr-old man who beat girlfriend to death
SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- An appellate court upheld a seven-year prison sentence Wednesday for a 32-year-old man charged with beating his girlfriend to death last year.
The man, surnamed Lee, was indicted on charges of battering his girlfriend, Hwang Ye-jin, to death in the lobby of a studio apartment building in western Seoul in late July of 2021 during a fight between the two.
Hwang sustained repeated blows to the head and lost consciousness. She was taken to a hospital with symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage, but died about 20 days later.
CCTV footage of the scene, released by Hwang's family, showed Lee carelessly dragging an unconscious Hwang in and out of an elevator, dropping her head on the floor or letting her head bump into the elevator.
Appealing for leniency, Lee admitted to all the violence charges and argued her death was accidental, not intentional.
"It is generally predictable that a victim who has drank considerably and was exhausted after sustaining repeated violence, could die if indirect blows are further inflicted," the Seoul High Court said, upholding the seven-year sentence handed out by a district court in January.
Hwang's family expressed regret over the verdict, saying Lee should be tried on a murder charge, not the charge of violence resulting in death.
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