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)