The captain of the South Korean ferry which sank and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, has been sentenced to 36-years imprisonment. The captain was found guilty of gross negligence and abandoning the ferry while more than 300 people remained trapped in the sinking vessel. Many of the victims were schoolchildren.
The incident is one of South Korea’s worst maritime disasters to date. Lee was further charged with homicide, with calls for the death penalty by prosecutors, but he was acquitted after the judges ruled the State failed to prove he had intent to kill.
“We find it hard to conclude that the defendants …were aware that all of the victims would die because of their actions and they had an intention to kill them,” said the bench. “Therefore the murder charges are not accepted,” it added.
Lee apologised for abandoning the passengers during the course of the trial. He was captured on video escaping the sinking ship while some passengers remained trapped inside.
Other crew members charged were the chief engineer of the ferry, who was found guilty of murder and was jailed for 30 years, and thirteen other crew members sentenced up to 20-years behind bars.
Source: BBC News
It has been established that Lee left the ferry under the command of an inexperienced crew members while others did not secure cargo which moved when the vessel took a tight corner, toppling the ferry.
Source: BBC News
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