A South Korean man who stabbed a man to death in an inebriated state has been given a 19-year jail term.
The accused had entered the victim’s home mistakenly in a drunken state in November 2022. He got into an argument with the victim and fatally stabbed him with a kitchen knife.
The Supreme Court of South Korea refused any leniency in the verdict, stating that the man was fully aware that his drinking could cause violent behaviour. He was found guilty of murder and separate charges of threats and violence.
The accused had sought a reduced sentence, citing his mental health issues, but the court refused. He said that he was suffering from depression and was under the influence of alcohol when he committed the crime.
A psychiatric evaluation by the National Forensic Hospital ruled that the man appeared to be fully conscious of his actions when the murder was committed.
“The defendant had long been treated for alcoholism, and had been punished multiple times in the past for felonies committed while drunk, thus leading the court to believe that he was fully aware that his drinking could lead to a violent crime,” the court said in its verdict.
In a similar incident reported from India in August 2017, a man stabbed his mother to death in a drunken state and later ate her heart with chutney (Indian sauce) and pepper.
Sunil Kuchakurni used to work as a labourer at a construction site. Kuchakurni was drunk and hungry when he entered his house. As the argument between the mother and son escalated, the accused reportedly gagged and stabbed his mother to death, according to local police.
“Later, he took out her heart and placed it on a plate. We found chutney and pepper spray at his house, which he had sprinkled on the heart. We suspect he ate a part of it,” added the officer.
The man was later awarded a death sentence by a local court. According to local media reports, Kuchkoravi was an alcohol addict. His wife left him because of his abusive behaviour. He used to live with his mother and harassed her for money.
Several studies over the years have found strong evidence linking alcohol with domestic abuse or domestic violence.
In the UK, two-thirds of domestic incidents reported to police involve people who are “under the influence of alcohol,” according to a study by Alcohol Research UK.
“Alcohol is one of the major ingredients of violent incidents (i.e., murder) due to its disinhibiting effects along with loss of emotional control that increases the susceptibility to physical assaults and eventually murder,” says an analysis by the NCBI.
