Kim Gilsu Swallowed Plastic Spoon but Says "Not a Planned Crime"... Thorough Investigation Needed

Kim Gil-su (36), who was detained at Seoul Detention Center on suspicion of aggravated robbery and escaped while receiving hospital treatment, was apprehended on the afternoon of the third day of his escape, the 6th. Despite swallowing a plastic spoon and fleeing while being treated at the hospital, Kim denied the allegation that the escape was premeditated. More thorough investigations are required to clarify the planning aspect, including tracking his future whereabouts.

Kim Gilsu was arrested on the afternoon of the 6th and is being transferred to Anyang Dongan Police Station in Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency, the police arrested Kim at around 9:24 p.m. near a public phone booth in Ganeung-dong, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi Province, and transferred him to the Anyang Dongan Police Station. Kim arrived at the Anyang Dongan Police Station at around 11:50 p.m. that day and, when asked by reporters whether he had planned the escape, he replied, "I did not plan it." When asked if he had any accomplices, he said, "I have no accomplices." He did not answer questions such as "Why did you escape?" or "Did you think you would not be caught?" and went inside the police station.

Although Kim denied the premeditation of his escape, the police are placing weight on the possibility that the crime was planned. After being arrested on suspicion of aggravated robbery on the 30th of last month, Kim swallowed about 5 cm of the handle part of a plastic spoon while in the detention center of Seocho Police Station in Seoul. When taken to the hospital, Kim refused to have the foreign object he swallowed removed even after an endoscopic examination, and was subsequently sent to prosecution in custody. Then, on the 2nd, Kim was detained at Seoul Detention Center but was transferred again to the hospital according to the correctional authorities' judgment. On the morning of the 4th, the third day of treatment, at around 6:20 a.m., while receiving medical care at the hospital, he used the restroom as an excuse to briefly remove his protective equipment, changed into hospital staff clothes, and escaped by taxi.

During his escape, Kim carefully avoided detection by covering his face with a mask and changing clothes. After the escape, he was captured on CCTV at the Gangnam Express Bus Terminal at around 9:40 p.m. on the 4th wearing beige top and bottom clothing, but when arrested by the police that day, he was wearing black-colored top and bottom clothing.

Kim was caught after contacting his girlfriend, Ms. A, via a public phone. Ms. A was the first person Kim visited after his escape on the 4th, and she even paid 100,000 won for his taxi fare at that time. The police, who have booked Ms. A on charges of aiding a criminal, anticipated that Kim would contact her again and stayed with her. Meanwhile, Kim made a call for help from a public phone using Ms. A’s mobile phone, and the police traced the caller ID back to the vicinity of the public phone booth, dispatching detectives from the violent crimes unit to arrest Kim.

The police completed basic questioning of Kim and handed him over to the detention center at around 4 a.m. on the 7th. This was 70 hours after Kim’s escape. According to the Execution of Sentences Act, prison officers can arrest a detainee who has escaped within 72 hours after the escape. The police explained that this measure was taken considering that Kim’s detention on the aggravated robbery charge remains valid.

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