Similar Stories Flood Police Station Website
Angry Netizens Demand Dismissal of Chief and Related Personnel
The Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station in Gyeonggi Province is facing controversy over conducting a coercive investigation against a man in his 20s who was accused of a sex crime after using the gym restroom. Meanwhile, claims from citizens who experienced similar incidents at this police station in the past have been continuously posted on online bulletin boards.
Recently, a post titled "My child experienced the same thing last year" was uploaded on the Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station's website free board. The author, Mr. A, wrote, "Female juvenile division female investigator, do you remember that almost the same thing happened last year?" and added, "You accused my son, who just finished his military service, of sexual harassment."
Mr. A continued, "The investigation was conducted based on a report from an unidentified elderly woman who claimed that a body part was exposed in a public place, but the principle of presumption of innocence was completely ignored. I also heard recordings of leading questions until a false confession was made and remarks that caused sexual shame." He added, "The investigator eventually sent the case to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment, but my son was cleared of charges. The case was sent again, but he was cleared again." He said, "I considered suing you for false accusation, but I gave up because I didn't want to dwell on this any longer. As far as I know, the unidentified elderly woman who filed the complaint has not been contacted." Then he asked, "I don't know about your achievements, but do you want to ruin young people with no social experience and bright futures like this?" and added, "Looking at your investigation practices, I felt at the time that such incidents would continue to happen."
Post on the Gyeonggi Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station website bulletin board[Image source=Captured from Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station website]
In addition to this post, several others claiming to have suffered from excessive investigations by the Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station's female juvenile division have been posted on the same board. One netizen even compiled posts from an online community claiming to have been investigated by the Dongtan Police Station's female juvenile division. These posts include a man's claim that he was investigated for stalking after knocking on the door and calling the ex-girlfriend's house to retrieve his belongings because she did not open the door after breaking up, and a netizen's story about being investigated for violating the Minor Offenses Act last February for staring in an elevator. Furthermore, angry netizens posted numerous messages on the free board criticizing the excessive investigations by the Dongtan Police Station and called for the dismissal of related personnel, including the chief and the head of the female juvenile division, by mentioning their real names.
Earlier, the Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station was embroiled in controversy for conducting an excessive investigation by accusing an innocent man of a sex crime. On the 23rd of last month, Mr. B, a man in his 20s living in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, was booked on suspicion of peeping on a woman in her 50s, Ms. C, while she was using the women's restroom inside the management office building next to the gym in his apartment complex. Mr. B denied the charges, saying, "I used the restroom, but I never entered the women's restroom," but the police reportedly conducted the investigation with an attitude that seemed to assume his guilt and spoke to him informally, saying things like, "If you are innocent, just stay still."
This story was made public on the 25th of last month through the YouTube channel "Innocent Man," prompting netizens to strongly criticize the police for violating the presumption of innocence and conducting coercive investigations. The police cleared Mr. B of charges only after Ms. C confessed on the 27th that she had made a false report.
Meanwhile, on the 1st, the Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station announced that Ms. C had been booked on charges of false accusation. The police also stated that if Mr. B wishes, the investigators and the staff who spoke informally to him would visit him personally to apologize.
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