Husband Leaves Wife with Brain Hemorrhage to Play Tennis... Suspended Prison Sentence Upheld on Appeal

Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison, Suspended for 2 Years, on Appeal

A man in his 60s who left his wife bleeding and collapsed at home while he went out to exercise has received a suspended prison sentence on appeal.

"Hard to Conclude That Immediate Reporting Would Have Prevented Coma"

According to Yonhap News Agency on September 9, the Incheon District Court Criminal Appeals Division 5-2 (Presiding Judge Yoon Hye-jeong) handed down its appellate ruling that day, sentencing Mr. A (65), who was indicted without detention on charges of abandonment resulting in injury, to one year and six months in prison, suspended for two years, the same as the original sentence.

The appellate court found it difficult to recognize a causal relationship between Mr. A's act of abandonment and his wife's comatose state. The panel explained, "The court of first instance determined that the delay in treatment due to Mr. A's abandonment was not significant," and added, "Even if he had called emergency services (119) immediately upon discovering his wife, it is hard to conclude that her comatose state could have been avoided."

The court further stated, "It took over two hours for the victim to receive decompressive emergency surgery, so even if the emergency call had been made about 50 minutes earlier, the surgery would at most have been moved up by that amount. Given medical records and other evidence, there is no reasonable likelihood that a coma could have been prevented even with an immediate 119 call."

The appellate panel also dismissed the prosecutor's claim of an unduly lenient sentence, stating, "The original sentencing is appropriate." Previously, the prosecution had requested a seven-year prison term for Mr. A during closing arguments in March of last year.

Previously Booked Three Times for Domestic Violence Incidents

Mr. A was indicted on charges of injuring his wife, Ms. B, a woman in her 50s, by leaving her bleeding and collapsed at their home in Ganghwa County, Incheon, at around 6:12 p.m. on May 9, 2023. At the time, he had stopped home to change his clothes before going to play tennis, when he discovered Ms. B collapsed. However, without taking any action, Mr. A took a photo of Ms. B and sent it to his stepdaughter before immediately going out again.

Ms. B was found bleeding on the bathroom floor due to traumatic subdural hematoma, a type of cerebral hemorrhage, and was transported to the hospital by emergency services called by her daughter, but fell into a vegetative state. During the police investigation, Mr. A reportedly stated, "I've been reported for domestic violence before," and "I left her because I didn't want to get involved with my wife over that kind of issue again."

In fact, he had previously been criminally booked by the police on three occasions for domestic violence, but each time the victim expressed that she did not want him prosecuted, resulting in a disposition of 'no right of prosecution.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.