Fish for the Cat? Pharmacy Employee Secretly Taking 'Zolpidem' Charged

Haeundae Police Station Investigates Woman in Her 40s for Stealing 130 Pills

A female pharmacy employee in her 40s was arrested by the police on charges of secretly stealing and consuming narcotic drugs without the pharmacist's knowledge.

It was revealed that she stole the medication from the pharmacy where she worked because she did not feel the effects from the prescribed dosage of zolpidem given by the hospital.

On the 3rd, the Haeundae Police Station in Busan announced that they have booked Ms. A without detention on charges of theft and violation of the Narcotics Control Act and are currently investigating her.

Ms. A is suspected of stealing and consuming medication containing zolpidem several times at a pharmacy in Haeundae-gu, Busan, in January. Zolpidem is a psychotropic drug prescribed for the treatment of insomnia and is classified as a narcotic. It can only be taken in the dosage prescribed by a doctor.

According to the police, Ms. A, who has been working as an employee at the pharmacy since September last year, had been taking zolpidem prescribed by a hospital while receiving psychiatric treatment. It was investigated that from December 10 last year to January 2 this year, she stole about 130 tablets of zolpidem around 10 times without the pharmacist's knowledge.

The pharmacist at the pharmacy noticed a discrepancy in the medication inventory and reported the matter to the public health center, then filed a police report on January 9. The police have summoned Ms. A for questioning and are conducting an investigation.

According to the safety usage standards of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, zolpidem cannot be prescribed exceeding 10 mg (1 tablet) per day for adults. The period of use should be within 4 weeks, and must not exceed 3 months.

It is known that Ms. A began stealing and consuming zolpidem-containing medication because she could not feel the effects from the prescribed dosage alone.

There is a discrepancy between the amount of medication missing from the pharmacy and the amount Ms. A admitted to stealing, so the police plan to verify the quantity of stolen medication before handing the case over to the prosecution.

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