The residence of Fijian Ambassador to South Korea Filimone Kau was burglarized late on April 19, the second residence of a foreign envoy in the Yongsan district to be robbed in a little over a month.

Not far from the Fijian ambassador’s residence, located in Itaewon 2-dong, the house of Uzbek Ambassador to South Korea Alisher Kurmanov in Hannam-dong was robbed on March 12. Police ruled out any connection between the two crimes.

Two thieves made off with 150,000 won ($144) in cash and 450,000 won in jewelry from the Fijian ambassador’s residence before their crime was interrupted by the ambassador’s son, who was coming in from a rear entrance. The two thieves then fled. The ambassador’s daughter was asleep in her room when the crime took place.

Ambassador Kau and his wife, Jiujiuta, were on an overseas trip at the time of the burglary.

In the case of the burglary at the Uzbek ambassador’s residence, a single thief came in through a back door that was left unlocked. The thief, who was apparently working alone, had attempted to open a safe in the master bedroom but fled the scene when the ambassador and his family returned home from a dinner out. Nothing of value was reportedly taken.

In both cases, the residences either did not have surveillance cameras or the on-site cameras were not in proper working condition, and the doors and windows were not properly secured.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)