South Korea slams American with 20-years jail term for murder

Years after fatally stabbing a South Korean university student at a Seoul Burger King restaurant, a Central District Court in the capital of South Korea sentenced Arthur Patterson, 36, from California to 20 years in prison on Friday for a crime he committed in 1997.

A friend of Patterson, Edward Lee, who was with him when the crime was committed was initially sentenced to life imprisonment for killing 22-year-old student, Cho Choong-pil, but luckily for him, he was later acquitted due to a lack of evidence.

Read also: Unruly air passengers to face jail term in South Korea

According to South Korean media reports, “Patterson had originally received an 18-month term for destroying evidence and possessing a dangerous weapon. Patterson was the owner of the knife used in the killing, and he threw it down a drain afterwards”.

South Korea’s Justice Ministry also says Patterson was later freed in a special amnesty and fled South Korea in 1999 while authorities launched a new investigation after which findings led to him being extradited to Seoul in September, 16 years after fleeing to the U.S.

According to the spokesman of the Seoul Central District Court, the 20-year sentence handed to the accused was the same that had been earlier requested by prosecutors with Patterson having just one week to appeal.

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