▲ This composite file photo shows two men in their 20s, surnamed Kim and Ahn, respectively, guilty of abusing a high school classmate to death. (Yonhap)

appeals court-homicide ruling

Appeals court upholds 30-yr prison term for 2 men for abusing high school alumnus to death

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- An appeals court on Thursday upheld 30-year prison terms delivered to two men each for locking up their former high school classmate and abusing him to death in 2020.

Confirming a lower court's decision, the Seoul High Court found the 22-year-old defendants, surnamed Kim and Ahn, guilty of assaulting the victim from September to November of 2020 and blackmailing him into writing a fraudulent contract that stated he would pay off some debt to them.

The court, however, only ordered Kim to wear an electronic tracking bracelet for 10 years and dismissed the prosecution's request for Ahn.

The defendants took the victim to their residence in western Seoul on March 31 and locked him up. Then they forced him to drop assault charges brought against them, extorted more than 5.7 million won (US$4,386), and restrained and tortured him.

Police arrested the two after finding the victim's body at their residence on June 13.

According to court records, the victim died of pneumonia and malnutrition. He only weighed 34 kilograms at the time of his death.

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