A South Korean guy has won an appeal over his one-year jail conviction for assisting in the suicide of his girlfriend’s ex-lover.

Last September, a couple were driving in their car in South Korea when they were stopped by the girl’s ex-lover. He had poured gasoline all over himself and threatened to kill himself if she did not get out of the car and talk to him.

The current boyfriend, a 30 year-old South Korean, tossed him a lighter, saying “Go ahead and kill yourself”, which the girl’s ex-lover followed through with by setting himself on fire.

The current boyfriend was charged with assisting in a suicide and sentenced to one-year prison term for his part.

The Seoul appeal court reversed the initial ruling, stating that the defendant did not believe his girlfriend’s ex-lover would actually kill himself.

The ruling was based on evidence that showed the girl’s ex-lover had given a friend his cigarettes and lighter so they would not be damaged by the gasoline. This showed the man really didn’t plan to kill himself at all.

(link)

By Sun Tzu on 01-08-2008