Feeding Vinegar and Burning with Cigarette Butts... Group of Juvenile Offenders Assaulted Middle School Student for 17 Hours Saying "It Feels Bad"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Nine suspects who collectively assaulted a middle school girl for 17 hours on Christmas Day last year have been arrested by the police.

The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced on the 20th that they had sent nine suspects to the prosecution, including five men in their 20s and four teenage women, on charges of joint injury and other offenses. Among them, Mr. A, a man in his 20s who played a major role in the crime, and two teenage women were detained.

They are alumni of a middle school in Gimhae, and from noon on December 25 to 5 a.m. on December 26 last year, they are accused of collectively assaulting Ms. B, a third-year middle school student, for 17 hours, subjecting her to cruel acts and coercion.

According to the police, they gathered at a one-room apartment in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, from Christmas Eve and were drinking when they conspired to assault Ms. B because she said unpleasant things while intoxicated.

On the day of the incident, the suspects took turns beating Ms. B with their hands and blunt weapons, forcibly fed her vinegar and cooking oil, and subjected her to cruel acts such as burning her face with cigarette burns.

They also sexually harassed her by forcibly removing her top during the process. They even staged a scene to justify the crime as self-defense by making Ms. B hold a weapon and act as if threatening them, which they recorded on a mobile phone.

After receiving a damage report from Ms. B’s parents on December 28, the police, judging the case to be serious, launched a full-scale investigation. The investigation was led by the Criminal Division with support from the Women and Juvenile Investigation Division.

The police secured CCTV footage around the crime scene and the suspects’ mobile phones to identify the perpetrators, and arrested all nine suspects within a day of receiving the report.

A police official said, “From the initial response to the transfer to prosecution, the entire process was well conducted according to the manual, and I understand that one investigator in charge of the case at the headquarters will be promoted to sergeant. Two officers who made significant contributions to the investigation are also scheduled to receive commendations from the National Police Agency Commissioner.”

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