A Man in His 20s Found with a Missing Child... "He's My Cousin" Lie Exposed

Child Reported Missing on the 8th of Last Month

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] A man in his 20s who was harboring a middle school student classified as a long-term missing child without notifying investigative authorities was arrested by the police.

Bucheon Wonmi Police Station announced on the 26th that they have booked a man in his 20s, identified as A, without detention on charges of violating the Act on the Protection and Support of Missing Children.

A is suspected of keeping a teenage girl, B (15), at his residence in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, from the 18th to the 25th without reporting to the police.

B, who lived in Sejong City, was registered as a missing person on the 8th of last month and was classified as a long-term missing child after one month. According to current law, anyone who fails to report and protect a missing child without justifiable reason faces up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won.

The police responded to a report from a PC cafe in Bucheon stating "a customer is not leaving" and found A with B. At the time, B was intoxicated, and A was supporting her. Initially, A claimed to be B's cousin, but when the police, suspicious of his statement, pressed him further, he changed his story.

The police plan to hand B over to her parents and conduct a thorough investigation into the exact circumstances of the case with A.

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