"Immunity Not Applicable?" Decision on Detention of Two Liberian Officials Accused of Sexually Assaulting Middle School Girl at Hotel to Be Made Today

Busan Dongbu Police Station to Apply for Warrant on 24th, Substantive Warrant Hearing Scheduled for Afternoon of 25th

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The decision on whether to detain two Liberian officials accused of sexually assaulting two middle school girls while on a business trip to Korea will be made on the afternoon of the 25th.

Busan Dongbu Police Station announced that a warrant hearing for them will be held at 2:30 p.m. that day.

The Liberian diplomat and official were urgently arrested on the spot on the 22nd in Busan on charges of sexually assaulting two middle school girls and a detention warrant was requested on the 24th.

According to the police, around 11 p.m. on the 22nd, Mr. A, a man in his 50s from Liberia, and Mr. B, in his 30s, were urgently arrested on charges of sexually assaulting two middle school girls at a hotel in Dong-gu, Busan.

Mr. A and Mr. B reportedly lured the two middle school girls, whom they met by chance at a subway station in Busan, to the hotel where they were staying, gave them alcohol, and then sexually assaulted them.

The police responded to a report from an acquaintance of the victims, and when Mr. A and Mr. B held the hotel room door for about 10 minutes refusing to open it, the police used an emergency key to open the door and arrested them on the spot.

Mr. A is a senior Liberian official, and Mr. B is a diplomat who came to Busan to participate in a training program hosted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

It is known that the two are refusing to testify, claiming diplomatic immunity.

A police official said, “Since this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot disclose details, and criminal cases apply the principle of territoriality.”