The Futile Outcome of the 'Geumgaps' Daughter Case... Neighbor Stole and Sold It in the Neighborhood

Man in his 50s living near strawberry farm identified as suspect
Arrested one month after incident
Initially reported 2t damage confirmed to be 400kg

A man in his 50s who broke into several farms in Gimhae-si, Gyeongnam, and stole a large quantity of strawberries was arrested about a month after the incident.

The Gimhae Western Police Station announced on the 22nd that they had arrested Mr. A, a man in his 50s, on charges of habitual theft for stealing hundreds of kilograms of strawberries from strawberry greenhouses around Gimhae-si. Mr. A is accused of entering strawberry greenhouses in Hallim-myeon, Gimhae-si, from December 16 last year to the 12th of this month and stealing about 390 kg of strawberries (worth approximately 7.8 million KRW).

[Image source=Pixabay]

Mr. A, a long-time resident of Hallim-myeon, took advantage of the fact that the strawberry greenhouses were not well secured with locks. He entered during late-night hours when there were few people around, carrying a flashlight, and each time he committed the crime, he filled about ten baskets with strawberries, loaded them into his car, and fled. It was later revealed that he sold the stolen strawberries to pubs in Gimhae-si and Miryang-si for 50,000 KRW per basket.

At the beginning of the investigation, it was assumed that the perpetrator was someone knowledgeable about farming because the furrows in the fields were not severely damaged. However, Mr. A was unemployed and had no experience in farming.

The police believe that Mr. A, who has multiple prior theft convictions, committed the crimes over two to three hours each time to steal repeatedly. Initially, the affected farmers claimed that about 2 tons were stolen based on the estimated daily harvest, but during the subsequent police investigation, they stated that about 400 kg seemed to have disappeared. The police tracked Mr. A’s vehicle route through closed-circuit television (CCTV) around the scene and apprehended him near a pub in Gimhae-si. The police are investigating whether there are accomplices or additional crimes involved.

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