A captain of a fishing boat was sentenced to 28 years in prison for murdering one of his crew and discarding the body at sea, after subjecting the victim to over a month of abuse.

The Mokpo Branch of the Gwangju District Court said Thursday that it found the 45-year-old defendant guilty of murder and abandonment of a corpse. Another 48-year-old crew member, the vessel's chief cook, was also found guilty of abandoning a corpse and inflicting violence upon the victim.

The three men had crewed a 20-ton fishing boat that set sail in March. The captain habitually beat the victim, made him sleep outside the cabin, and starved him.

The victim lost consciousness on April 30, to which the captain responded by having the other men strip him and pour sea water on him. The victim died after showing signs of hypothermia.

The two defendants tied the body up in a fishing net and threw it overboard the next day.

The Coast Guard checked the ship's log and found that the victim was missing, and eventually discovered that he had been murdered onboard. The victim's body was never found.

The court found that the defendants committed the crimes because they thought the victim was not good at his job, and because they simply did not like him.