Truck driver jailed for 40 months for possession of explosives

^{Police investigate the explosive device at East Dam, High Island Reservoir}

In June last year, a 24-year-old truck driver was found in the East Dam of the High Island Reservoir with a metal pipe containing about 45 grams of explosives. The defendant earlier pleaded guilty to a crime of possession of explosives. The District Court judge stated in the sentencing hearing last Friday (2/7) that doing evil was the only reason for possession of explosives and reprimanded the defendant for not being honest in his plea. In the end, considering the social atmosphere at the time, the explosives involved in the case and the attitude of the defendant, the defendant was sentenced to 40 months in prison.

The defendant stated in his mitigation plea that his father died of cancer in 2018, and his mother, who became the family bread-winner became addicted to gambling due to the pain of loss, and eventually had to file for bankruptcy. The defendant and his brother dropped out of school because of the situation. However, the judge emphasised that the circumstances of this case were serious and the personal family background was not a strong reason for leniency. Moreover, the statement on his background was not completely correct, as it was inconsistent with the background report mentioning that the defendant dropped out of school because he was “playful and not studying.”

The judge continued that the defendant and his companions both wrapped their hands in paper bags that day. It can be seen that they had the intention of detonating explosives. It was just luck that no one was injured during the incident. In addition, although some experts pointed out that the explosives involved in the case will not explode on their own, they were still very sensitive substances and would explode in case of fire. As for the defence, the defendant claimed that he had put the metal tube in his pocket for safekeeping. The judge bluntly disagreed, and pointed out that the defendant’s carrying it with him was one of the factors that added to the punishment because of the risk of falling into the hands of others.

In addition, when the defendant appeared in court he said that he did not know that the item involved was an explosive. He thought it was a lighter. The judge dismissed this. The defence replied that the defendant would withdraw the statement that the article in question was a lighter, explaining that the defendant simply did not know its ingredients but knew it was an explosive.