Actress Jang Mi In Ae, who was charged with eight months in prison with two years of probation and a fine of over three hundred million won for abusing the illegal drug propofol, is appealing her sentence.
According to the sources, Jang Mi In Ae through her lawyer submitted forms for appealing her sentence on December 2, 2013, which was the last day to appeal her sentence. Actresses Lee Seung Yeon and Park Shi Yeon, who were charged with the same allegation and sentenced on the same day as Jang Mi In Ae, have not appealed their sentences yet.
Jang Mi In Ae and her lawyer are adhering to their original position that there has not been an addiction to propofol. Jang Mi In Ae's lawyer on a phone interview said, "Jang Mi In Ae decided to appeal her sentences. Although we are planning to sum up the reasons for the appeal, the main point is that she is not guilty because she was not addicted to propofol."
Previously, the court on November 25, 2013, sentenced Lee Seung Yeon (45), Park Shi Yeon (34 nee Park Mi Sun) and Jang Mi In Ae with eight months in prison with two years of probation and a fine of over three million won in violation of the Act on the Control of Narcotics, for abusing the illegal drug propofol.
Last March, he Korean Prosecutor's Office indicted Park Shi Yeon, Jang Mi In Ae, and Lee Seung Yeon without detention for allegedly taking a frequent dose of propofol. The three were allegedly charged with taking numerous injections of propofol, with Park Shi Yeon 126 injections, Jang Mi In Ae 95 injections, and Lee Seung Yeon 111 injections.
On October 28, 2013, the Seoul Central District Court, No. 523 (Judge Sung Soo Jae) held a trial for the three actresses, where they were sentenced with imprisonment and fines and later pled for leniency in tears.
The official from the Prosecutor's Office said on October 28, "Although the doctor was arrested and investigated for the excessive administration of propofol, but their crime isn't any lighter considered the entire period of propofol administration, the frequency of dosing, and the number of times they kept making false statements and consistently failing to show a reflective attitude."
The official from the Prosecutor's Office said on Jang Mi In Ae, "Jang Mi In Ae is stating that she did not even know what propofol was, which is not a convincing excuse at all, and she is not sorry for the crime at all." The official from the Prosecutor's Office added, "Although propofol was categorized as an illicit drug in 2011, the abuse and misuse of the drug hasn't ceased. The actresses' crime is not light as they took a socially unacceptable number of propofol administration and dosage."
Jang Mi In Ae said in response, "There was a limit to losing weight by exercising and dieting while working as an actress. I did not know it would be a crime to take propofol under the doctor's administration."
The three have been continuing their trial for the past eight months.
