Kwon Ik-wi Commission: "Inappropriate to Accuse Criminal Acts Without Physical Evidence"

It was deemed inappropriate for a police officer to accuse someone of a crime based solely on testimony without physical evidence, using a false claim such as "I checked the CCTV footage."

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) announced on the 24th that it recommended corrective action to the police regarding an officer who falsely told a suspect that CCTV footage existed during the investigation of a lost electric scooter report, despite not having verified the footage.

In February, a police officer who received a theft report caused controversy by accusing a suspect of a crime with the false claim that they had checked CCTV footage. At the time, the reporter, Mr. A, discovered that an electric scooter he appeared to have lost was being sold at a secondhand market. Mr. A asked about the acquisition details of the scooter, but when the answers were unsatisfactory, he reported the seller, Mr. B, to the police on suspicion of theft and other charges.

Mr. B explained that he had not been to the mart, but the police officer continued to press him, saying, "I confirmed it on the nearby CCTV." However, it was later revealed that the officer had not actually checked the CCTV footage around the scene at that time.

After the investigation of the nearby CCTV footage failed to confirm Mr. B's presence, the case was closed before formal charges were filed. Subsequently, Mr. B filed a complaint with the ACRC Police Ombudsman in April.

Kim Taegyu, Vice Chairman of the ACRC, emphasized, "Investigations should be based on physical evidence to uncover the substantive truth," adding, "We must ensure that no one is unjustly forced to confess or testify based on prejudice without evidence."

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