To Be Referred to Prosecution in Custody
It has been revealed that Cha Cheolnam (56), a Chinese-Korean national and suspect in the stabbing incident in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, planned and carried out the crime starting from early this month.
The Siheung Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced on May 27 that Cha Cheolnam will be referred to the prosecution under detention on charges of murder and attempted murder.
Cha Cheolnam is accused of murdering two brothers in their 50s, also Chinese-Korean nationals, with a blunt weapon at around 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. on May 17?one at his own home in Jeongwang-dong, Siheung, and the other at the brothers' nearby residence. He is also accused of stabbing and injuring a female convenience store owner in her 60s, identified as B, near his home at 9:34 a.m. on May 19, and his landlord, a man in his 70s identified as C, at a sports park at 1:21 p.m. on the same day.
Cha Cheolnam testified that he had lent the brothers, with whom he had a close relationship, approximately 30 million won in Chinese currency on several occasions. He stated that he became angry and killed them after failing to recover the money.
The police confirmed, through CCTV footage, financial records, and telecommunications investigations, that Cha Cheolnam had prepared for the crime in advance, including purchasing a weapon, starting from early this month, about ten days before the incident.
Cha Cheolnam lured the older brother of the two to drink alcohol and killed him first, then proceeded to kill the younger brother. According to a preliminary autopsy report, the brothers appear to have died from head trauma.
Cha Cheolnam reportedly believed he would be apprehended anyway, so he did not attempt to flee far but instead stayed near his home or around a reservoir, or ate meals at restaurants. During this time, he also decided to commit crimes against B and C, with whom he had longstanding negative feelings, and carried out these attacks.
After arresting Cha Cheolnam, the police assigned a profiler to interview him on May 22 and released his mugshot, name, age, and other personal information. He underwent a psychopathy (antisocial personality disorder) assessment, but it was reported that he did not meet the criteria for such a diagnosis.
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