Eight correctional officers who collectively assaulted an inmate and attempted to cover up the incident during the fact-finding investigation have been referred to the prosecution.
According to the Muan Police Station in Jeonnam on the 25th, four correctional officers affiliated with Mokpo Prison, who were booked without detention on charges including joint injury, were sent to the prosecution.
The police also handed over four colleagues who falsified documents during the correctional authorities' internal investigation and subsequent investigation process to the prosecution on charges including evidence tampering.
They are accused of collectively beating a 30-year-old inmate, Mr. A, on May 2 of last year, causing injuries that required four weeks of treatment.
The police secured evidence through closed-circuit television (CCTV) inside the prison showing the four correctional officers assaulting Mr. A, and it was revealed that the four fellow officers manipulated evidence after the correctional authorities launched a fact-finding investigation following Mr. A's complaint immediately after the incident.
According to the police investigation, it was confirmed that they attempted to destroy evidence again when the police received Mr. A's accusation in March of this year and began an investigation.
The police applied for pre-arrest warrants for the four correctional officers involved in the assault, but the court dismissed them on the grounds of 'no risk of flight or evidence tampering.'
The police conducted the investigation without detention and judged that the charges against four of the five correctional officers identified by Mr. A as the perpetrators of the assault were valid.
The charges against the four correctional officers who attempted to tamper with evidence were revealed during the police investigation process.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
