The owner of a junk shop who purchased stolen aluminum... Ledger saved his life.

Purchase of 319 tons of waste aluminum for 600 million won over 5 years
A ledger detailing transaction details proves innocence.

Mr. A, the owner of a junk shop who was sent to the prosecution on charges of purchasing scrap aluminum stolen by customers for several years, was cleared of the charges thanks to the ledger in which he recorded the transaction details.

According to the legal community on the 26th, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Mr. A, a man in his 60s, who was accused of purchasing 219 tons of waste aluminum scrap worth 600 million won (habitual acquisition of stolen property) from Mr. B, an employee of an aluminum company, last month.

Mr. A continued to buy waste aluminum for about 5 years starting in 2018, but later, when the items were revealed to be stolen goods from Mr. B, Mr. A was also investigated. According to Article 362 of the current criminal law, acquiring, transferring, or transporting stolen property can result in imprisonment for up to 7 years or a fine of 15 million won.

During the investigation, it was reported that Mr. A denied the charges, saying that he had also been deceived by Mr. B. The prosecution found that Mr. A was not guilty based on the fact that he entered the purchase amount and quantity in detail in the transaction history ledger prepared by Mr. A, and that the disposal price was transferred by bank transfer rather than cash.

The prosecution said, “Considering that Mr. B, who clearly revealed his affiliation to Mr. A, actually worked at an aluminum processing company, it appears that it would have been difficult for Mr. A to recognize the aluminum in question as stolen goods.”

Daeryun Law Firm served as Mr. A's legal representative.Attorney Choi Han-sik“In the case of acquiring stolen goods, the decision must be made taking into account all circumstances, including the personal information of the seller and the nature and type of the goods,” he said. “It was difficult for Mr. A to recognize it as stolen property, but we had a good result by explaining well whether or not business negligence was recognized.”

Intern reporter Jeong Ye-eun (ye9@kyeonggi.com)

[View full article]
The owner of the junk shop who purchased the stolen aluminum... Ledger saved it (Shortcut)