▲ This file photo shows the Suwon District Court, south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

false police reports-sentence

Man who made false police reports of subway bombing gets jail term

SUWON, South Korea, Sept. 3 (Yonhap) -- A man who repeatedly made false reports of bombing the subway and attacking police forces was sentenced to 14 months in prison for obstructing official duties, court officials said Sunday.

The Suwon District Court, just south of Seoul, handed down the sentence to the unidentified man in his 50s, who was indicted for sending five text messages to the police emergency hot line on May 30 threatening to bomb a busy subway line and attack special police forces.

Following the false reports, about 90 police officers overseeing subway lines 1 and 2 in the Seoul metropolitan area were sent to the scene for a search.

"The defendant threatened to bomb or attack public facilities and offices for no particular reason, thereby obstructing official duties of public servants," the court said in a ruling. "Considering the extent of the damage to public duties and wasted social costs, the degree of illegality and the severity of the crime are significant."

The defendant argued he was in a state of diminished capacity due to alcohol consumption at the time, but the court did not accept his claims of being in a condition lacking the ability to make decisions.

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