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A Canberra man who warned the manager to clear a fast food restaurant before he lit a gas bottle, sparking an explosion which shattered windows and ripped down ceiling panels, has been sentenced to more than three years' jail. Gyu Seon Park, 42, was badly burned in the blowout after he opened the cylinder inside the toilets at McDonalds in Braddon shortly before 9pm on September 13, 2015. "There's gas. You guys need to leave," he told the manager. Park then set the gas alight. He was on bail at the time for attempting to torch Kusina's restaurant in Weston by splashing petrol on the floor and at diner's feet during a dispute with his former employer, a collapsed construction company, over unpaid debts one year earlier. Park, who worked as a tiling contractor, threatened to set fire to the fuel in a desperate attempt to force the builder, who was linked to the eatery, to pay money he believed he was owed. He was tackled to the ground by nearby diners who grabbed a cigarette lighter from his hands and waited until police arrived on September 10, 2014. Park pleaded guilty to two acts which were likely to endanger human life or cause grievous bodily harm shortly before an ACT Supreme Court trial was set to begin last year. He returned to court for sentencing on Friday. The court heard Park, who was born in South Korea, had started to use ice in 2013 and attributed his mental health problems and offences to his drug habit. Justice Burns, who took into account numerous psychiatric reports, was satisfied Park suffered an underlying mental illness, namely schizophrenia, which had been significantly aggravated by drug use. He said the offender's judgement had been impaired when each of the incidents took place and, in his opinion, that reduced Park's moral culpability for his crimes. A pre-sentence report author noted Park had not tried to minimise or justify his actions and expressed some empathy and remorse. He had also taken part in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. The judge accepted the offences were "very much out of character" and said Park's mental illness meant punishment and general deterrence should be mitigated, but not neglected. "I'm satisfied that so long as you accept treatment and abstain from use of illicit drugs, you are unlikely to reoffend. You have good prospects for rehabilitation." Justice Burns sentenced Park to a maximum of three years and five months jail, with a non-parole period of 21 months. His sentence was backdated to include 507 days already spent in custody, which means he will be eligible for parole in April. Justice Burns warned Park, whose many supporters shed tears after his sentence was handed down, that he must avoid illicit drugs and continue mental health treatment. "It is heartening to note from the reports you appear to have a degree of insight into your illness," he said.

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