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Suspended sentence upheld for man who tried to rob bank with dinosaur squirt gun

Published: 27 Aug. 2025, 18:58 Updated: 27 Aug. 2025, 19:03

A man threatens bank employees with a toy squirt gun wrapped in a plastic bag to resemble a real firearm in Busan on Feb. 10. [YONHAP]

A man who tried to rob a bank in Busan with his 8-year-old son’s squirt gun has received a suspended prison sentence, the Busan High Court ruled.

The court upheld a lower court’s ruling of two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years, for attempted robbery, rejecting a prosecutorial appeal for a harsher penalty, according to legal insiders on Wednesday.

"The prosecution appealed on the grounds that the sentence was too lenient,” the court said. “But all unfavorable circumstances against the defendant were already considered in the original ruling, and there are no additional factors to justify increasing the sentence.”

The defendant attempted to rob a bank in Gijang County, Busan, on the morning of Feb. 10.

Wearing a beanie and scarf to obscure his face, he entered the bank holding a squirt gun shaped like a dinosaur covered with a black plastic bag in an attempt to make it resemble a real firearm and shouted at more than 10 customers and staff inside to evacuate the building.

A toy water gun was used in the robbery attempt. [BUSAN GIJANG POLICE PRECINCT]

He then ordered a remaining employee to fill a suitcase with 50,000 won ($36) banknotes. However, another man quickly grabbed the plastic bag from the suspect and struggled with him. Two more bank employees joined in and managed to subdue the man.

The man told investigators that he committed the crime due to financial hardship. The toy he used was confirmed to belong to his 8-year-old son.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]