Korean Chinese man sentenced to life imprisonment for killing 2 brothers, injuring 2 others

ANSAN — A court sentenced a Korean Chinese man to life imprisonment Wednesday for killing two brothers and attempting to kill two others.

Cha Cheol-nam, a 56-year-old Chinese national of Korean ethnicity, was convicted of killing the two brothers, both in their 50s and of the same Korean Chinese background, in Siheung, just southwest of Seoul, on May 17.

One was murdered at Cha’s home, while the other was killed at the brothers’ home.

The Suwon District Court’s Ansan branch also found Cha guilty of attempting to kill a convenience store owner in her 60s and his 70-something landlord in separate stabbings two days later.

“The defendant planned the crimes thoroughly and in detail, and the results were horrendous,” the bench said. “In determining the sentence, we took into consideration the fact that the defendant feels no sense of guilt, appeared to flaunt his crimes and was not forgiven by the victims’ families.”

Cha had told investigators that he committed the murders out of anger after the brothers failed to repay him a loan totaling some 30 million won ($20,500).

While feeling frustrated, he then planned to kill the convenience store owner and his landlord for having previously shown a disdainful attitude toward him.

Prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for Cha.