CONTENTS
- 1. A Client Accused of Bodily Injury and Facing a Police Investigation Visits Daeryun
- 2. What Are the Charges and Level of Punishment for a Client Accused of Bodily Injury?
- - Information Related to Infliction of Bodily Injury
- 3. The Strategy to Defend Against Punishment for the Bodily Injury Complaint Client
- - Bodily Injury Punishment Defense Strategy | Denying All of the Client's Alleged Offenses by Proving the Specific Facts
- 4. Identifying the Issues in the Case of a Client Accused of Bodily Injury and Securing a Non-Referral Decision for No Suspicion of Crime
1. A Client Accused of Bodily Injury and Facing a Police Investigation Visits Daeryun
The client, who received a complaint for bodily injury, was unfairly implicated and placed at risk of punishment.
The criminal attorney examined the client's account.
The client had dated the victim for less than about a month and then broke up.
However, after the breakup, the victim filed a complaint alleging that the client had inflicted bodily injury by transmitting, through physical contact, a virus that causes a skin disease.
The client, feeling deeply wronged and bewildered, requested a consultation with our firm's criminal attorney and asserted his innocence, and the criminal attorney established a strategy to help the client obtain a non-referral defense on the ground of no suspicion.
2. What Are the Charges and Level of Punishment for a Client Accused of Bodily Injury?
Let us look at the crime of infliction of bodily injury, the charge facing the client who was placed at risk of punishment after being subject to a complaint for bodily injury.
Information Related to Infliction of Bodily Injury
The crime of infliction of bodily injury is set out in Article 257 of the Criminal Act, and it is established when a person intentionally damages another person's body and thereby causes a change in its physiological function.
Chapter 25 Crimes of Infliction of Bodily Injury and Assault, Article 257 (Bodily Injury, Bodily Injury on Lineal Ascendant)
| A person who inflicts bodily injury on another person Imprisonment for up to 7 years, suspension of qualifications for up to 10 years, or a fine of up to 10 million won |
| A person who commits the crime under paragraph (1) against his or her own or his or her spouse's lineal ascendant Imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to 15 million won/attempts are punishable |
The crime of infliction of bodily injury is divided into serious bodily injury, which applies when a danger to life has arisen; serious bodily injury on a lineal ascendant, which applies to one's own, one's spouse's, or a lineal ascendant; special bodily injury, which applies when a group is involved or a dangerous object is carried; and bodily injury resulting in death, which applies when the victim is caused to die.
The levels of punishment for the following offenses are as follows.
| Serious bodily injury | Imprisonment for at least 1 year and up to 10 years |
| Serious bodily injury on a lineal ascendant | Imprisonment for at least 2 years and up to 15 years/attempts are punishable |
| Special (aggravated) bodily injury | Imprisonment for at least 1 year and up to 10 years/attempts are punishable |
| Where special bodily injury causes serious bodily injury | Imprisonment for at least 2 years and up to 20 years |
| Bodily injury resulting in death | Imprisonment for a definite term of at least 3 years |
| Bodily injury resulting in death (against one's own or one's spouse's lineal ascendant) | Life imprisonment or imprisonment for at least 5 years |
While the crime of assault is a crime not punishable against the victim's will, meaning it cannot be punished if the victim does not wish for punishment, the crime of infliction of bodily injury is not such a crime.
Accordingly, even if a settlement is reached with the victim, it can be difficult to avoid criminal punishment for the crime of infliction of bodily injury.
For the crime of infliction of bodily injury to be established, the following elements must be satisfied.
1. A person's body must be the object
|
The firm's criminal attorney assisted the client, who could not hide his bewilderment at the complaint for the crime of infliction of bodily injury, and defended the client by establishing a defense strategy against punishment focusing primarily on the following issues.
3. The Strategy to Defend Against Punishment for the Bodily Injury Complaint Client
To assist the client, who faced the risk of punishment from a complaint of bodily injury, the firm established the following defense strategy and made its defense arguments.
Bodily Injury Punishment Defense Strategy | Denying All of the Client's Alleged Offenses by Proving the Specific Facts
The criminal attorney made the following arguments, focusing on the factual point that the client and the other person had met through an acquaintance and, shortly after becoming acquainted, had arranged to meet.
The criminal attorney argued that the two had a brief relationship of about two weeks before breaking up due to personality differences, that during that time there had only been light physical contact such as hugging and kissing, and that no sexual contact had taken place.
The criminal attorney closely examined the point that the victim claimed the client had transmitted to her, through sexual contact, a virus capable of causing a skin disease.
It was argued that the victim's claim did not arise from any diagnostic result identifying the disease, but amounted to no more than a speculative ailment based on how she felt about her own condition.
The criminal attorney strongly contended that there was a flaw in the victim's claim, in which, having ruled out the possibility that the rash might simply have appeared due to fatigue, she treated it as a virus caused by physical or sexual contact with the client and asserted, "You infected me, so you must compensate for the harm."
The criminal attorney further advanced the following arguments.
| 1. The client was in the early stage of the relationship at the time and had feelings of affection. 2. The client had no idea at all that the virus the victim claimed was one transmitted through sexual contact. 3. Accordingly, it was argued that the client's reply that he would compensate the victim for the harm was by no means a statement made in the sense of taking responsibility on the ground that he had transmitted an infection. |
The criminal attorney also submitted the client's hospital medical certificate and made clear that the client was not a carrier of the virus the victim claimed, and that therefore, due to the lack of intent, awareness of assault, and causation, the crime of bodily injury could not be established.
4. Identifying the Issues in the Case of a Client Accused of Bodily Injury and Securing a Non-Referral Decision for No Suspicion of Crime
With the assistance of the criminal attorney who helped the client accused of bodily injury, the police issued a non-referral decision to the client.
The client, who had feared being punished, told the criminal attorney that he was sincerely grateful for arguing his innocence and clearing his grievance.
Because the crime of infliction of bodily injury is not a crime not punishable against the victim's will, if the alleged offense is found to be true, punishment cannot be avoided even if the victim does not want the offender to be punished.
For this reason, it is best to avoid becoming involved in such a case from the outset, but if you are facing an unjust allegation as in the client's case, it is most important to receive legal assistance from a criminal attorney and to conclude the case by obtaining a decision of no suspicion or non-referral from the early stages of the investigation.
The 🔗criminal attorneys of this firm, who have an average of 10 years or more of experience handling criminal cases, form a dedicated TF team and assist clients unjustly accused of the crime of bodily injury through legal assistance and simulations of investigative agency pre-questioning.
If you need help with a charge of bodily injury, we recommend that you make a 🔗legal consultation reservation with this firm and receive legal assistance after a case-tailored assessment.
This content is based on actual case studies of Daeryun Law LLC with some adaptations, and the copyright belongs to our firm.
Unauthorized reproduction, duplication, or distribution and other copyright infringements may result in legal action under applicable laws.
