8 years in beating of manager who cooperated with police

A convicted felon was sentenced to eight years in prison Monday for beating up an elderly laundromat manager for cooperating with police last year.

In March 2009, Bennie Hale charged at Ki Han with a broken whiskey bottle and chased him into the office of the Spinn'g Bubble laundromat, according to Han and other witnesses. Hale then knocked Han to the floor, hit him with a microwave and pounded him in the chest while yelling at him for calling police, Han, who's in his 70s, said at the time.

Hale, 22, was on parole for a drug conviction when he attacked the South Korean immigrant at the laundromat at 5441 W. Chicago.

Neighbors said the corner near the laundromat is a favored spot with gang members because it has a back door: When police show up out front, they dash through the two-room laundry and out the back door into a lot where they hide their guns.

After being attacked, Han, who said he used to be a tae kwon do master, said he was still not afraid to call the police.

"No problem," he said through an interpreter. "The police are trying to help us."

Photo: Bennie Hale; Photo: Ki Han