“I deceived a patient with schizophrenia”... ‘Permit appraisal results’ that overturned the fraud case

A deliberate approach to building a country house
Suspicion of ‘quasi-fraud’ aimed at profiting from market price
The court asks, “Is schizophrenia recognized?”
“It is difficult to say that it is significantly cheap.”

A man who was put on trial on charges of deceiving a schizophrenic patient and purchasing land permits at a lower price than the market price was found not guilty. On the 28th of last month, the Changwon District Court found Mr. A, a man in his 60s, not guilty on charges of quasi-fraud.

Mr. A was accused of intentionally approaching Mr. B, who suffered from schizophrenia, and purchasing the land permit at a lower price than the market price while acquiring the right to use a river in Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do to build a country house in 2021.

However, Mr. A denied the charges. At the time of the transaction, we had several conversations with Mr. B, and the intention is that Mr. B had reasonable judgment regarding the disposition of the rights. At the same time, Mr. A emphasized, “I could not understand at all that Mr. B was suffering from mental illness.”

The court found Mr. A not guilty. The court explained, “According to the market valuation results, the standard market price of the permit in question was 3,544,140 won, and the defendant purchased it at a price that was 15% lower than the market price,” adding, “It is difficult to say that the rights were acquired at a price so low that it could constitute a quasi-fraud.”

Attorney Kim Gyeong-hwan of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, said, “For a quasi-fraud offense to be established, the issue is whether the defendant was aware of the victim’s mental and physical disability and whether the defendant was intentional.” He added, “The fact that Mr. B was diagnosed with schizophrenia alone cannot determine that the defendant was aware of Mr. B’s mental and physical disability at the time of signing the contract.” It was also stated, “Mr. B faithfully proved that he was in a state where he was able to distinguish between interests and interests at the time, such as proposing to transfer the permit to Mr. A first.”

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“I tricked a patient with schizophrenia”… ‘Permit appraisal results’ that overturned the fraud case (link)