Four people who staged a hospital admission following a minor parking lot fender-bender were each sentenced to 5 million won in fines, v.daum.net reported. The defendants, including a man in his 30s identified as A, plotted to cash in on an accident in Yongin where a reversing Sorento vehicle lightly tapped their front bumper.
Yongin Parking Lot Tap And The Decision To File Claims
The incident began in a Yongin parking lot when a Sorento backing up made contact with a sedan carrying A and three friends. The driver of the Sorento, along with two children aged five and nine, required no medical treatment. A and his companions also reported no physical discomfort, continuing with their scheduled amusement park ride on the day of the crash. However, a passenger named B suggested filing insurance claims, prompting the group to check into an Incheon Korean medicine clinic the next day.
Despite official hospital admission records, the four individuals did not receive actual inpatient care. They left the facility during the early morning hours to drink alcohol, visit pubs, sing at karaoke rooms, and frequent bowling alleys and PC bangs. Insurers paid out 1.9 million won in settlement money to each participant, alongside roughly 2 million won per person for hospital treatment costs. B also secured an extra 5.3 million won in unrepaired vehicle costs without fixing his car, pushing total payouts past 20 million won.
National Forensic Service Findings On Impact Force
During court proceedings, A and the other defendants maintained they suffered legitimate injuries from the collision and lacked any intent to defraud insurance companies. The National Forensic Service reviewed footage of the crash and determined that the physical movement of the driver and passengers fell below the threshold a healthy adult can comfortably handle. The analysis concluded that the collision almost certainly caused no actual injuries.
The trial court highlighted the defendants’ nightlife activities during their recorded hospital stays. Visiting bars, bowling alleys, and internet cafes contradicted claims that their medical conditions required inpatient treatment or prevented outpatient visits. When confronted with credit card records and mobile phone logs disproving initial claims that they remained inside the facility, the defendants argued in court that the hospital felt stifling.
Court fines four defendants for insurance fraud
The court rejected the defendants’ explanations as unacceptable excuses, noting that treating fraudulent hospitalization and subsequent partying as normal behavior warranted strict punishment. Judges convicted A and his three associates of violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud, imposing a fine of 5 million won on each defendant.
Why the court rejected injury claims?
Why did the court reject the defendants’ claims of injury?
The National Forensic Service analyzed the accident footage and determined the physical force exerted on the occupants was too low to cause bodily harm. Card usage and phone records proved the group spent their hospital stay visiting local pubs, karaoke rooms, and PC bangs.
What specific penalties did the court hand down?
The court found all four defendants guilty of violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud and sentenced each individual to a 5 million won fine.
How much total insurance money did the group collect?
The group collected over 20 million won in total payouts, which included 1.9 million won in settlement funds per person, roughly 2 million won per person in hospital treatment fees, and 5.3 million won in unrepaired vehicle costs claimed by B.
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