A man in his 30s, Mr. A, who turned himself in to the police claiming he had used drugs, was transported to the hospital in cardiac arrest within half a day but ultimately passed away.
According to multiple domestic media reports on the 25th, at around 4:30 PM on the 18th, Mr. A surrendered at a police box under the jurisdiction of the Gangbuk Police Station in Seoul, stating that he had taken drugs. He was taken to Gangbuk Police Station under voluntary accompaniment and underwent a rapid drug test. The test result came back positive.
It was reported that Mr. A exhibited abnormal behavior during the police investigation, such as repeatedly banging his head against the wall.
Concerned about Mr. A’s self-harm, the police placed him in a detention cell around 7 PM. However, just two hours after being detained, Mr. A showed symptoms of respiratory distress with foam at his mouth. The detention officer immediately called an ambulance, and he was transported to the hospital but ultimately died.
The cause of Mr. A’s death is presumed to be an overdose of drugs. It is known that stimulant-type drugs often cause respiratory distress or cardiac arrest.
However, some have pointed out the need to review whether internal protocols were followed, such as placing individuals who self-harm like Mr. A in protective detention cells equipped with shock-absorbing walls rather than in regular detention rooms.
A police official stated, "We reviewed the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and confirmed that there were no procedural issues," but added, "We plan to decide whether to proceed with an internal investigation once the autopsy results are available."
Increase in Drug Offenders... 'Lack of Detention Manual'
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised that there is no clear detention manual for drug offenders.
According to an MBN report, currently, the assessment of the health condition of drug offenders is left to the judgment of on-site police officers, but there are limitations to visual assessments by police officers who lack medical knowledge.
Although rapid drug tests and physical examinations to prevent self-harm are conducted before detaining drug offenders, it is difficult to detect detailed health conditions such as overdose, and there are no safety measures to prevent shock.
There have also been calls for the necessity of drug offender protection centers or staff with medical knowledge to be on duty.
In countries like the United States, it is known that drug offenders are first transferred to relevant medical personnel before detention for appropriate measures.
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