SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- A court on Thursday sentenced a factory owner to three years in prison for causing severe intestinal injuries to a Thai migrant worker by firing an air gun at him early this year.
The Suwon District Court handed down the sentence to the owner, who is in his 60s and runs a metal-cleaning factory in Hwaseong, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, after convicting him of aggravated assault and violating the Labor Standards Act.
The owner is accused of inserting an industrial air gun into the anus of the Thai worker in his 40s at the factory on Feb. 20 and discharging high-pressure air for about seven seconds.
The worker sustained internal injuries, including a rectal perforation measuring about 10 centimeters in length, and underwent surgery. The owner has denied the charges, arguing that he had not acted intentionally and that it was merely a prank.
The court said it determined the sentence after considering various circumstances, including the fact that the owner had deducted the victim's medical expenses from his wages and had shown no remorse despite inflicting serious injuries on the worker.
However, the court acquitted the owner's wife, who was charged with intimidating the Thai worker on the day of the incident by implying that he could be reported to the police as an illegal immigrant and deported.
The Suwon District Court (Yonhap)
ycm@yna.co.kr
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