Killer seeks more time to appeal life sentence for $10k robbery-gone-wrong

A convicted murderer who strangled, stripped naked and buried his victim in a Brisbane backyard to steal $10,000 cash from him, has sought an extension of time to appeal his life sentence.

Min Tae Kim was murdered in 2013.

A convicted murderer who strangled, stripped naked and buried his victim in a Brisbane backyard to steal $10,000 cash from him, has sought an extension of time in which to appeal his life sentence.

Sanghyun Hwang, 31 at the time, killed 28-year-old Min Tae Kim in December 2013 and buried him in a shallow grave at a property in Algester on Brisbane’s southside.

Hwang told police he responded to an online ad as he needed Australian dollars. Mr Kim rang him and they discussed converting money. Mr Kim wanted to exchange AUD $10,000.

Hwang picked Mr Kim up and took him to the Algester residence, which Hwang knew was unoccupied as the resident had moved out days earlier.

Victim Min Tae Kim.

Hwang admitted to police that on the way to Algester and before he met Mr Kim, he was thinking: “Threaten him (Mr Kim), take the money.”

On the drive to Algester, Hwang and Mr Kim talked and realised they had lived in neighbouring suburbs in Korea. Hwang admitted he “actually got quite close to him”.

At the Algester property, Hwang told Mr Kim that someone else was coming to do the internet banking for the transaction. Hwang told police:

“I continued telling him (Mr Kim) that he (internet banking person) was going to come soon, but there wasn’t such a person who was going to come,” according to the court judgment.

“Then he (Mr Kim) became suspicious and he got angry at me. And he told me: “Are you playing with me?”

“He pushed me, and I thought he was going to hit me, so I went behind him and grabbed him … he struggled to get away and we fell down together onto the floor and the impact was big and I held onto his neck.

“I continued holding onto his neck … It seemed that Mr Kim … was not conscious … and I undid my arms from his neck and I looked at his face and a lot of blood and foam came out of his mouth.”

Police at the Algester house where the body of Min Tae Kim was found.

During the Supreme Court trial in July 2016, Hwang was convicted of murder by a jury. The trial did not focus on whether Hwang killed Mr Kim, the contested issue was whether the prosecution could exclude self-defence beyond reasonable doubt.

Hwang applied to the Court of Appeal for a time extension to appeal against his murder conviction. Three appeal judges delivered their decision this week.

The appeal centred around the trial judge’s directions to the jury about Hwang’s defence.

“It is submitted … the trial judge (was required to) explain to the jury that they could reason to a manslaughter conviction if they acted on (Hwang’s) evidence that he was defending himself after Mr Kim pushed him, he was in fear of being hit, and he therefore did not choke him (Mr Kim) in the prosecution of the unlawful purpose of robbing him,” Court of Appeal judge Debra Mullins said in this week’s judgment.

Victim Min Tae Kim.

However, Justice Mullins - with the support of appeal judges John Bond and Graeme Crow - ruled Hwang’s appeal lacked prospects of success and refused a time extension.

“The real issue at the trial was fairly identified for the jury in the summing up as whether Mr Hwang was still prosecuting his plan to steal from Mr Kim when he put the chokehold on Mr Kim,” Justice Mullins ruled.

“The trial judge expressed accurately in the summing up and the redirection that in order to convict … the jury had to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the choking or strangling of Mr Kim occurred while Mr Hwang was putting in effect his plan to steal Mr Kim’s money.”