A teacher who lit up a big fire in the school after smoking in Eunmyeong Elementary School in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, was sentenced to imprisonment at the first trial and was arrested in court.
According to law enforcement officials on the 9th, Judge Jin Jae-gyeong, who was solely for the third criminal justice of the Seoul Western District Law, sentenced the former teacher, Eunmyeongcho A, to a prison sentence of 10 months, who was handed over to trial on charges of serious fire on the 8th. The suspicion of serious negligence refers to the act of damaging public buildings or other people’s objects by burning them due to serious negligence. The responsibility is heavier than the simple false accusation.
The exterior wall of Eunmyeong Elementary School in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, where the fire broke out on June 26, 2019, is scorched black the next morning. yunhap news
Emergency evacuation for 100 students and teachers… Property damage worth 2.7 billion won
On June 26, 2019, a fire broke out in Eunmyeongcho around 4 pm. At that time, 116 students and 11 teachers were left in the annex building. Suddenly, the fire caused a commotion in which 158 students and teachers who were taking classes after school were evacuated.
There was no serious injury due to the rapid evacuation orders from the school and the fire department, but two teachers who helped evacuate students were taken to the hospital after drinking smoke. The flames that started at the recycling collection site burned 19 vehicles in the adjacent parking lot, and burned through the ceiling of the parking lot to the fifth floor of the annex building, causing property damage worth 2.7 billion won.
The suspect is a teacher… Ignite from a cigarette butt
As a result of the joint inspection, the fire department and the police believed that a fire, suspected of being lit by cigarettes, sprang up in the recycling collection area in the parking lot on the first floor of the building. Furthermore, as the fire investigation proceeded, it was revealed that the suspect in the fire incident was a teacher at this school. The Seoul Western Police Department charged teacher A on suspicion of subduing and sent it to the prosecution for prosecution.
On the day of the fire, Mr. A smoked at the recycling collection point next to the Annex of Eunmyeongcho on the day of the fire, and then discarded the cigarette butts. In elementary schools, the entire facility is a non-smoking area. The small fire started from the cigarette butt spread to a large fire. Mr. A denied that he was a smoker, but he smoked e-cigarettes, not at the beginning of the year, and that he went to the first fire site but never smoked.
1st trial “All charges of Mr. A admitted”
The judge did not accept Mr. A’s claim. There is a situation that Mr. A smoked ordinary cigarettes, and it was judged that a fire was caused by the cigarette butts he discarded. In addition, Mr. A was arrested in court for fear of destruction of evidence and escape. If the imprisonment is confirmed, Mr. A will be subject to retirement due to dismissal during severe disciplinary action in accordance with Article 69 of the National Public Service Act. In case of dismissal, only 50% of pension and retirement allowance can be received.
Judge Jin said, “If you look at the defendant’s health checkup questionnaire or card usage statement, it is acknowledged that he has smoked ordinary cigarettes. It seems that the defendant stopped by school for a while and smoked in a hurry before moving to another place after a dinner on the day of the incident. I judged it. He also pointed out that “smoking in a place with flammable substances and leaving without properly extinguishing the embers is a grave negligence.” .
Reporter Ham Min-jung [email protected]