A police inspector who demanded money for a group dinner and imported liquor from a drunk driving suspect in exchange for leniency, such as advising him to reach a settlement, has received a suspended prison sentence.
Incheon District Court Criminal Division 14 (Presiding Judge Son Seung-beom) announced today (August 20) that it has sentenced Police Inspector A, assigned to a police station in Incheon and indicted on charges of demanding a bribe, to six months in prison, suspended for one year, and a fine of 1 million won.
Inspector A was indicted on charges of advising Suspect B, a drunk driving suspect assigned to his case in May of last year, to settle with the victims and demanding 300,000 won for dinner expenses along with a bottle of whiskey worth 52,000 won.
Suspect B subsequently reached a settlement with the victims, and Inspector A booked him only on charges of drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act, excluding the charge of bodily injury resulting from professional negligence under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents.
Suspect B was accused of driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.114% for 5 kilometers from Michuhol-gu to Yeonsu-gu in Incheon at 12:20 a.m. on April 25 of last year, crashing into a taxi that was waiting at a traffic light.
According to the investigation, Inspector A told Suspect B, who appeared for suspect questioning, "The investigation went well, and we will be having a team dinner soon. It would be nice if you could support us with the dinner expenses," adding, "Please bring 300,000 won in cash to the police station on the day of the dinner."
He also sent a mobile text message to Suspect B saying, "When you come to the police station, please grab a bottle of whiskey from the mart."
It was revealed that immediately following the quick settlement, Inspector A booked B for simple drunk driving without listening to the statements of the victims, including the taxi passengers, after only interviewing B.
During the trial, Inspector A argued that although he did ask Suspect B for valuables, it did not constitute a bribe as there was no connection to his official duties or quid pro quo.
However, the court ruled that Inspector A had demanded money and valuables from Suspect B in connection with his quintessential official duty as a police officer, which is criminal investigation.
Even Suspect B, who had no personal ties to Inspector A and received such a demand, stated during the investigation, "I thought it was a bribe and decided I shouldn't give it to him."
B even sent a text message declining the request to Inspector A.
The court pointed out, "The fact that a police officer engaged in investigative work actively demanded money and valuables from a suspect first has a high potential to undermine public trust in the fairness of official duty execution, making the culpability severe."
It added, "We considered the fact that the defendant is a first-time offender, has served as a police officer for a long time and received numerous commendations, and that the demand did not lead to actual acceptance," while noting that "the defendant had also previously received heavy disciplinary actions of three and two months of suspension over several years while handling traffic investigations."
Meanwhile, Inspector A is reported to have received heavy disciplinary action early this year over this incident.
(Photo: Provided by Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)
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