"COVID-19 Patient Who Escaped from Daegu" Lies and Is Arrested for Fare Evasion

A man in his 50s was arrested and detained for falsely reporting himself as a COVID-19 patient to avoid arrest after dining and dashing at a restaurant in Gyeongnam. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Min Jun-young] A man in his 50s who falsely reported himself as a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, has been arrested.

The Gimhae Jungbu Police Station in Gyeongnam announced on the 10th that they had arrested Mr. A (51) on charges of obstructing official duties by deception after he claimed he was infected with COVID-19 to avoid paying at a restaurant.

Mr. A is accused of evading payment at a restaurant in Gimhae at 9:42 a.m. on the 7th and claiming he was a COVID-19 confirmed patient who had escaped from Daegu to avoid arrest.

As a result, five police officers who responded to the scene and Mr. A were quarantined at a nearby security center until the next day, causing disruption as they were unable to properly handle tasks such as receiving 112 emergency calls.

Test results showed that both Mr. A and the police officers tested negative.

Mr. A had previously been investigated on the same charges for four instances of evading payment and falsely claiming to be a COVID-19 confirmed patient in Seoul, Gangwon, Chungju, and Changnyeong since February.