Man who called police to say he'd 'temper' wife gets suspended sentence for murder preparation

A man in his 40s who roamed the streets near his home armed with a weapon while waiting to kill his estranged wife has received a suspended prison sentence.

Judge Byeon Seong-hwan of the Busan District Court's Criminal Division 4 sentenced the man, identified only as A, to one year in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of preparing to commit murder, Yonhap reported.

A was indicted on charges of preparing to commit murder after he emerged from his residence in Yeongdo-gu, Busan, in August 2024 carrying a weapon and wandered nearby roads while waiting for his wife, who had left home, to return.

A had tried to contact his wife and filed a missing-persons report with police. When she sent him a text message saying, "Where did you learn to do this? Did you really think I'd come back because of that?" he took it as mockery and decided to kill her, investigators found.

While roaming the area with the weapon, A called the emergency line himself and said he would "temper" his wife — a threat implying violence. Officers who responded about 10 minutes later arrested him on the spot.

It also emerged that A had a prior conviction from 2018 for threatening his wife with a weapon, for which he had also received a suspended sentence.

The court said it took into account that A had called police himself immediately after the incident, which suggested he may not have had a genuine intent to kill.