"Family Requested Amputation"... Caught on Camera Putting Body Part in Recycling Bag?

[Anchor]

We reported yesterday (June 18) that a human leg part discovered at a recycling center in Incheon belonged to a patient hospitalized at a nearby nursing hospital. During police questioning, the hospital stated that the amputation was unavoidable due to severe necrosis, and that the limb, which had been wrapped in bandages, was mistaken for a plaster cast and placed in a recycling bag.

Reporter Kim Gyu-ri has the story.

[Reporter]

Police confirmed that the human leg part found at a recycling center in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, on June 10 belonged to a patient at a nursing hospital.

The patient is a woman in her 80s who was admitted on June 1, and the hospital reportedly amputated part of her leg in the hospital room on June 8.

Regarding the fact that the amputation took place in a hospital room rather than an operating room, a hospital official told police that the necrosis in the leg had progressed to the point where anesthesia was not even necessary.

[Lee Heon / Chief of Detective Division, Incheon Yeonsu Police Station: The patient's condition was so severe that no other hospital would accept her. The family stated that they desperately requested the hospital to take her in, and the hospital complied.]

The hospital explains that after the patient was told at another hospital that further treatment was difficult, the family sought out this nursing hospital and requested admission, which the hospital accepted.

Based on these statements and expert advice, the police plan to determine whether performing an amputation outside of an operating room constitutes a violation of the law.

Regarding the negligent management of medical waste, the hospital told police that a volunteer cleaner mistook the amputated leg, wrapped in bandages, for a plaster cast.

They claimed it was mistaken for plaster because it was hard, but it has been confirmed that hospital CCTV captured the scene where the leg, which had been in a medical waste bag, was transferred into a recycling bag.

The police have downsized the investigation team, which had been composed of about 100 officers to investigate the possibility of a violent crime, and will continue the investigation into whether the hospital violated the Wastes Control Act and the Medical Service Act.

(Reported by Lim Dong-guk | Video by Jo Mu-hwan | Graphics by Kang Yun-jeong)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.