Slender 170cm Man in His 50s Disguised as Woman Commits Dine-and-Dash Across the Country

Deceived Merchants by Even Altering His Voice

A man in his 50s who disguised himself as a woman and traveled across the country committing fraud, including eating at restaurants without paying, has been handed over to prosecutors.

According to Yonhap News on April 29, a man in his 50s, identified as A, was arrested and referred for prosecution on fraud charges. From October of last year until last month, he is accused of visiting restaurants in Daejeon, Cheonan in South Chungcheong Province, and Gyeonggi Province on 15 occasions, where he either ate without paying or borrowed money and then fled without repaying, causing damages totaling approximately 5.7 million won.

A man dressed as a woman. Photo by Daejeon Dongbu Police Station and Yonhap News

A, who is 170 cm tall and has a slender build, styled his long permed hair and dressed as a woman to approach his victims. Most of the victims were identified as elderly women. He reportedly gained their trust by engaging them in conversation and building rapport, pretending to be the same gender. A even altered his voice to deceive the victims so convincingly that they believed he was a woman and reported him to the police as such.

The police apprehended A after receiving a report from a restaurant owner in Dong-gu, Daejeon, and tracking him down using closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage. A is a habitual fraudster with dozens of previous convictions for fraud, and it was confirmed that he committed these new offenses shortly after being released from prison for similar crimes.

It was found that A had no fixed address and moved between accommodations to evade police pursuit. A police official urged, "Be cautious when conducting financial transactions with people whose identities are unclear, and if you become a victim, report it immediately to 112."