Gimcheon: A district court on Tuesday sentenced a man to life in prison for murdering a stranger and using his fingerprints to secure a loan. The Gimcheon branch of the Daegu District Court handed down the sentence to 32-year-old Yang Jeong-nyeol for murdering the victim, aged 31 at the time, at a studio apartment in Gimcheon, some 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in November and taking out a 60 million-won (US$42,088) loan under his name using his fingerprints.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the two were not acquainted. "The defendant committed a crime against humanity that misused the irreplaceable life of a human being as a means for economic gain," the court said, citing the "ruthless crime" as the reason for the heavy sentence that aims to "permanently isolate" the defendant from society.

The court also ordered Yang to wear an electronic anklet for 20 years. Prosecutors had demanded the death penalty.