A man in his 30s who was sentenced to prison at the Incheon District Court slashed his own neck in a defendants' waiting room and was transported to a hospital.
According to the Incheon Fire Department and the court on Thursday, the defendant, identified only as A, who had been on trial on charges of attempted quasi-indecent assault, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and taken into custody in the courtroom at around 2:23 p.m. the same day. Immediately after being moved to the waiting room, A pulled a bladed weapon from inside his clothing and cut his own neck.
When paramedics arrived at the scene, A was lying on the floor. Correctional officers were already performing emergency measures, including stopping the bleeding. A was transferred to a nearby hospital and is currently receiving treatment.
The tool A used was a folding knife integrated with a keychain, commonly known as a "MacGyver knife." A had gone through a security screening before entering the courthouse, but the weapon was not detected.
"The screening procedure itself was carried out normally," a court official said. "There is a possibility that the blade, in its folded state, was not identified as a weapon during the X-ray inspection of items in the bag."
