Man gets suspended jail term for cutting gas line, threatening family

A 61-year-old man, who cut the hose of an apartment gas line and threatened to start a fire with his family there, was sentenced to 1 year in prison, suspended for two years by a local court.

The Uijeongbu District Court said Friday it had handed the guilty verdict to the defendant indicted for threatening and exposing others to explosive substances. Using gas or other explosive substances to cause danger to another person is punishable by at least one year in prison, according to the Article 172 of the Criminal Act.

The defendant made the threat against his son and his ex-wife at an apartment in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, at approximately 7:15 p.m. on April 22. When an argument got out of hand, he cut the hose connected to the building's gas supply and opened the gas valve, saying, "Let's all die together."

He told the investigators that he committed the crime out of frustration during an argument.

While the court acknowledged that the defendant's actions imposed a severe threat to the lives and property of other people, it said his actions did not lead to actual damage. The court took into consideration that the victims did not want the defendant to be punished, and that he has no criminal record outside of minor fines.