Choi Shin Jong, who was arrested on charges of serial killing and rape, had been sentenced to an eight-year jail term in 2012, it has emerged. He was then charged with first-degree rape but managed to get his sentence deferred. The court took the decision of changing its verdict as he had regretted his act.
But this wasn't true as he was again held for rape and murder of two women in North Jeolla province. The police considered this as a severe crime and revealed his identity to the public, even before he was proved guilty in these cases.
Choi Sin Jong was charged with first-degree rape for the first time in 2012. He had restrained and raped the victim under duress. Similar to the recent cases, Choi Shin Jong had raped and then strangled the victim. He is said to have used a 20-cm knife to threaten the victim and had kept her in confinement for six hours.
Court Gives Deferred Sentence Verdict
Following Choi Shin Jong's arrest and investigation, the court had sentenced him to three years in prison. After settling the case with the victim, he was given a deferred sentence of five years. However, the court had not disclosed his identity as a sex offender. It considered the culprit's submission that he was regretting his act.
After being in jail for four years, Choi Shin Jong appealed for retrial in 2016. He based his plea on the Supreme Court ruling that one of the charges against him was ruled as unconstitutionally harsh in 2015. The court gave its verdict in 2017 and he was subjected to a deferred sentence of four years and three years in prison, which he had already served.
Probe to Find Additional Charges
The North Jeolla Provincial Police Agency revealed the identity of 31-year-old Choi Shin Jong on May 21. He is currently charged with rape and killing of two women from Jeonju and Busan. One of the victims is said to be his wife's acquaintance. Choi Shin Jong is said to have confessed to the crime of killing one woman on April 14 and the other on April 18.
Currently, police are investigating the case further to see if any additional charges can be made against Choi Shin Jong to make the case stronger. It is speculated that he might have contacted more than 1,000 women in the chat application.
