Exorcist pastor to have manslaughter case heard again

Yong Bum Lee. File picture / Glenn Jeffrey

A Korean pastor jailed for manslaughter after a woman died during an exorcism has won a retrial.

Yong Bum Lee was sentenced to six years imprisonment in 2001 for causing the death of Keum Ok Lee, 37, during an exorcism to expel demons from her body.

Lee did not take part in the trial or have a lawyer represent him, because he said God told him not to.

The Court of Appeal in a reserved decision yesterday quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial.

It said the absence of a lawyer for Lee placed a greater responsibility on the judge in the High Court at Auckland, and the jury was not given enough guidance on the facts of the case.

The judges said there were also questions about whether the victim had given her consent to the continuation of the exorcism, particularly in its later stages.

Lee was deported from New Zealand after completing his sentence.

- NZPA