Chinese exchange student sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison for arson on Ulsan university campus

A Chinese exchange student who set fires in multiple locations on the campus of a university in Ulsan has been sentenced to prison in the first trial.

According to the legal community on the 6th, Judge Auh Jae-won of the Ulsan District Court’s Criminal Division 1 sentenced a male in his 20s, identified as A, who was charged with arson of general personal property, to 1 year and 6 months in prison.

A is accused of igniting blankets and notebooks in a total of five locations, including a smoking booth near the university dormitory, in mid-February of this year while studying as an exchange student at a university in Ulsan.

After burning the blankets and notebooks in the smoking booth, he returned to his residence to fetch additional items and subsequently committed arson in the alley next to the university building, in forested areas, and in other hills and bushes near different buildings. Approximately 50 square meters of forested land near the university building was burned as a result.

Despite evidence, attempted to flee to China, while denying some of the charges

During the trial, A stated, "It is true that I burned items in the smoking booth, but I did not set fires in the alley next to the building or in the forest."

However, the court did not accept this claim.

The fact that fires occurred consecutively along the path A walked, that his name was written on the burned notebook, and that he was the only person seen entering the bushes at the time of the fire were decisive pieces of evidence.

Decisive evidence

The court stated, "The defendant is culpable for failing to take any action despite seeing students and faculty trying to extinguish the fire in the smoking booth and returning to retrieve items from his residence to commit further arson."

The court continued, "He attempted to flee to China the day after the arson and has denied some of the charges, indicating the need for strict punishment."

However, the court also noted, "It is fortunate that the fire was extinguished early, preventing major damage, and that the defendant appears to have poor mental health with no prior criminal history, which were also taken into consideration."

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