A worker accused of “stealing” snacks has finally been acquitted after a legal battle lasting nearly two years.
The logistics firm he was working for filed a claim against him last year for taking a Choco Pie – a popular South Korean snack – and a mini custard worth 1,050 won (RM3) from an office fridge last year.
Deeming the offence minor, prosecutors filed a summary indictment, but the driver insisted he was innocent and requested a formal trial.
A court found him guilty and fined him 50,000 won (RM141) – around fifty times the value of what he had eaten. But the worker immediately appealed, and finally won the legal challenge.
“The defendant was acquitted,” an official from the Jeonju District Court said yesterday.
The defendant’s lawyer told reporters after the ruling that the driver “felt deeply ashamed that it led to a trial” as “he was simply hungry in the early morning”.
The case sparked public outcry, with labour unions comparing him to Jean Valjean, the protagonist of French classic novel Les Miserables jailed for stealing bread to feed his siblings. — AFP
