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Police force innocent teenager to confess to murder

A South Korean police station has come under fire for coercing an innocent teenager to confess to murder after a television program revisit the case occurred a decade ago.

He was freed after three years in prison, but despite his innocence, he still has to pay compensation.

Saturday’s edition of SBS investigative program “Unanswered Question” showed how Iksan Police Station in North Jeolla Province threatened the 15-year-old, surnamed Choi, to confess to killing a taxi driver in 2000, resulting in a 10 year prison sentence. Choi served three years. 

The teenager, who worked as a delivery boy, initially reported to the police that he witnessed the culprit who stabbed the driver to the death. But three days later, the police pinpointed Choi as the main suspect.

“The probe result showed that Choi stabbed the taxi driver and ran away after having a quarrel with the man who ran into his motorcycle,” an official of the station said.

Choi insisted in court that the police forced him to make a false statement, but he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

In 2003, Gunsan Police Station announced that they had caught the real offender, but Choi already had spent three years behind bars.

On the top of the unjust sentence, Choi had to pay the taxi driver’s insurance. Choi has to request a retrial on the case to refuse the payment but it is difficult to reverse the previous decisions of the police, prosecutors and judges, according to the program.

When the program’s staff visited Iksan Police Station for an interview, they found that the detective on the murder case was transferred to other station and the remaining officials said they could not remember details because it happened a long time ago.

From news report (khnews@heraldcorp.com)