[Summary] Arrest Warrant Requested for Dog Owner in Namyangju 'Dog Bite Incident'... Attempted Evidence Tampering

Pre-trial Detention Warrant Requested for Charges Including Negligent Homicide and Evidence Tampering
Denies All Allegations Including Adoption of Large Dog

Large dog involved in 'Namyangju dog bite incident' captured by police / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] A 60-year-old man identified as dog farm owner A, who was identified as the dog owner in a fatal dog bite incident that occurred in a mountain in Namyangju last May, has been issued an arrest warrant. Known as a dog trader, A illegally raised dozens of dogs near the accident site, and after the incident, he denied being the owner and attempted to destroy evidence, it was confirmed.

The Namyangju Northern Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 21st that they have applied for a pre-arrest warrant against A on charges including negligent homicide.

A is accused of causing the fatal accident by neglecting the management of the dogs under his care. He is also charged with instructing his acquaintance B, who handed over the large dog to him, to destroy evidence, and separately, with illegal medical practices at his dog farm. Regarding this, B is also reportedly under investigation without detention on charges of evidence destruction.

According to the police, immediately after the accident, A asked B to "testify to the police that the dog was burned," and later proposed, "Since the scene of handing over the dog to me might be recorded on the black box, if you get rid of the black box, I will pay for the reinstallation cost." The police have reportedly secured call and video records containing these details.

Currently, A completely denies both the charge of raising the large dog and the charge of instructing evidence destruction, saying "I never did that." The police judged that A attempted to destroy evidence immediately after the accident and is likely to continue doing so, thus applied for a pre-arrest warrant.

The incident occurred on May 22 in a mountain in Namyangju. At that time, a mixed breed dog of Samoyed and Pungsan, about 150 cm in body length and weighing around 30 kg, attacked a woman, resulting in her death.

At the time of the accident, the dog was reportedly roaming near the mountain without a muzzle or leash.

Last May, this large dog attacked a woman who was taking a walk in a mountain in Namyangju, causing her death. / Photo by YTN

CCTV footage capturing the large dog attacking the female victim was also released. In the video, a woman wearing red clothes is seen walking when the dog grabs and hangs onto her arm.

Due to the shock, the woman falls to the ground, and the dog attacks her more violently. The struggle lasted over three minutes, and after the dog disappeared, the woman came down from the mountain and collapsed in front of a nearby factory.

Later, an employee of the nearby factory found the injured and collapsed woman and called 119. The woman was urgently transported to a nearby hospital for treatment but ultimately passed away.

The large dog was captured by the police and transferred to a city-run abandoned dog shelter, and the method of disposition has not yet been decided.

According to the police, the dog was first adopted by B from the abandoned dog shelter in May last year. One month after adoption, in June of the same year, B handed the dog over to A at A's request. A raised the dog for about 11 months until the fatal dog bite incident in May this year.

Meanwhile, after the incident, A reportedly closed the illegal dog farm and moved the dogs he was raising to a location in Pyeongnae-dong.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.