A North Korean veteran has been sentenced to ten years in a correctional labor camp in a public trial for murdering a woman in her twenties and stealing her bicycle and money, Daily NK has learned.
In North Korea, criminals convicted of murdering victims in the course of a robbery are normally sentenced to death or given a life sentence even if they have a clean record. For this reason, the veteran’s ten-year sentence is being seen as unprecedented in its leniency.
A source in Hamgyong Province told Daily NK that “many people were expecting the death penalty but were surprised to find out that he was only sentenced to ten years correctional labor.”
Some residents believe the reduced sentence was given because the justice department considered the fact that he served his military service diligently and his parents had passed away before he was discharged.
According to the source, the veteran essentially had to find a way to support himself immediately after discharge because he was alone when he returned to his hometown of Chongjin. Despite requesting work and rations from the local People’s Committee, he received little assistance.
The veteran was barely making ends meet at the local market and regularly took a boat from Susong River, which is near Su Nam Market. He frequently noticed a young woman in her twenties using her red bicycle to conduct commerce and came up with a plan to rob her.
According to the information made available during the public trial, in April, the man followed the woman returning home on a boat and attempted to steal her bicycle and money but when she resisted by shouting, he strangled her to death.
The Chongjin City police investigated the case and arrested the man after receiving a tip that he was seen riding the victim’s bicycle around Susong River.
The former soldier cooperated with the police’s demand for a confession and during the course of their investigation, his neighbors actively defended him by telling the investigators of his unfortunate circumstances and earnestness.
After the preliminary investigation and while reporting the facts of the crime, the police considered the circumstances that led to the murder by looking at his childhood, military service, the death of his parents and tough situation. A separate source in North Hamgyong Province agreed that the veteran’s circumstances may have played a role in his reduced sentence.
The North Korean court system has three levels and two types of trial, but for regular criminal cases, sentences are nearly always determined during the first trial. The prosecutor’s office rarely objects or appeals the sentences given.
“Although the victim’s family is upset, local residents are not really in disagreement with the sentence because it reflected the fact that the defendant, despite his difficult circumstances, carried out his military service well and worked hard after his discharge,” the additional source explained.
“The veteran is currently serving his sentence in Chongori Correctional Labor Camp (also known as Chongori Re-Education Camp) in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province.”
*Translated by Yongmin Lee
