A video showing a man in his 20s assaulting an elderly man on a bus, and another man who intervened, is going viral online after it was revealed that the latter was slapped with fines for violence.
According to a recent episode of the current affairs program Scandal Supervisor on JTBC, the incident occurred in June last year on a bus in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. A man his 80s was holding onto a pole when the moving bus caused him to lean forward and accidentally brush against a seated woman with his backside.
The woman’s boyfriend reacted aggressively, striking the elderly man in the neck. A third male passenger who witnessed the altercation attempted to intervene but ended up in a scuffle with the younger man, who resisted violently. During the fight, the elderly man tried to break it up but was kicked by the assailant.
The elderly man was later diagnosed with injuries requiring three weeks of recovery and is reportedly suffering from psychological trauma. The man who attempted to help also sustained injuries, including a nasal bone fracture, and was given the same three-week recovery diagnosis.
The victim’s son, who arrived at the scene shortly after the incident, told JTBC that his father was lying on the ground while the young couple stood nearby, talking and laughing.
Despite the circumstances, the assailant was fined 2 million won ($1,454) for assault, while both the elderly man and the man who intervened were also fined 1 million won each.
The court ruled that the man who attempted to help had also thrown punches and that the elderly man grabbed the younger man’s neck, pants and groin.
Other passengers on the bus reportedly submitted a petition requesting leniency for the man who tried to help.
shinjh@heraldcorp.com
