"‘I'm a Police Officer’ - Active Police Officer Arrested for Using Rank to Avoid Paying Bar Tab"

An active-duty police officer who repeatedly drank on credit by claiming to be a police officer in the Changwon and Busan areas has been arrested.

The Changwon Jungbu Police Station in Gyeongnam announced on the 9th that they had arrested and detained Sergeant A, in his 30s and affiliated with a local police substation, on charges of fraud, obstruction of business, and property damage.

According to the police, Sergeant A is accused of not paying for drinks on six occasions at bars in Sangnam-dong, Seongsan-gu, Changwon City, and Seomyeon area, Jin-gu, Busan, from September 15 to the 7th of last month.

In the early hours of the 7th, around 3 a.m., he is also accused of throwing his mobile phone, breaking liquor bottles, and kicking and damaging flowerpots while being arrested by police who responded to a report of unpaid drinks at a karaoke bar in Sangnam-dong.

Text message sent by the Korea Entertainment Food Service Industry Changwon Special City Branch to its members. [Image provided by reader]

After drinking at the bar, he presented his police ID and claimed that a friend would come later to pay or that he left his belongings as collateral, thus treating the drink charges as credit.

When retrieving his belongings the next day, he reportedly only repaid part of the amount, saying, "I came in a hurry and don't have enough cash."

Even after the Gyeongnam Police Agency suspended him on the 16th of last month for violating the duty to maintain dignity, Sergeant A continued to drink on credit in the Sangnam-dong area, referring to himself as a detective.

The Changwon Special City Branch of the Korea Entertainment Food Service Association sent out a warning message stating, "Recently, a customer claiming to be a detective from a certain police station has been drinking on credit in Sangnam-dong," and added, "Since he is currently suspended and unable to pay for drinks, please be especially cautious."

The Gyeongnam Police Agency plans to hold a disciplinary committee next week to decide the level of disciplinary action against Sergeant A.

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