CCTV Footage Shows Owner and Distressed Part-Timer Before Her Death

[Phone Call between the Late Chae Dan-bi and a Friend / Actual Recording (Dec. 28, 2025): I really want to die so badly, what should I do? What do I do about this? I want to die, what should I do?]<br /> <br /> CCTV footage has been released from the case of a part-time worker who died after reporting a sexual assault.<br /> <br /> Last December, the late Chae Dan-bi, who worked at a pub in Danwon-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, reported her boss in his 40s on charges of quasi-rape.<br /> <br /> Danbi claimed she was sexually assaulted by the pub owner during a drinking gathering held after closing. CCTV footage from the day of the incident shows her wiping away tears while talking to the owner, and subsequently shows the owner holding and dragging a staggering Danbi from behind.<br /> <br /> [Phone Call between the Late Chae Dan-bi and a Friend / Actual Recording (Dec. 28, 2025): Suddenly, you know table number 19 in front of the smoking room? (A very secluded spot) Yeah, he suddenly took me there and the owner suddenly... He really did that. I kept saying I really didn't want this and hated it, but he kept going. (What did the owner say?) He said there were no CCTV cameras there, it was fine, and asked me to just come over for a second.]<br /> <br /> <br /> On the afternoon of the incident, Danbi reported the victimization to a nearby police box, underwent a police investigation, and was examined at an obstetrics and gynecology clinic.<br /> <br /> However, 52 days after the incident, a police notice of non-indictment arrived, and Danbi took her own life three days later.<br /> <br /> [Friend of the Late Chae Dan-bi: She just collapsed... It was my first time seeing her like that. We had been waiting, and the non-indictment decision seemed to be an even greater shock to Danbi.]<br /> <br /> Colleagues who worked with Danbi say that the pub owner usually liked alcohol and spoke freely about Danbi.<br /> <br /> [Pub Part-Time Colleague: (When drinking) He would talk a lot, engage in physical contact regardless of whether they were male or female part-time workers, and frequently said things like, "Danbi is really pretty, Danbi is really pretty," and "Guys like faces like Danbi's."]<br /> <br /> <br /> A blood test taken on the afternoon of the incident showed Danbi's blood alcohol concentration was 0.085%, a level of extreme intoxication that would warrant license revocation. It was estimated that based on the time the sexual assault took place, her level would have been at least twice as high.<br /> <br /> However, the police dismissed the case, citing the fact that the two individuals were seen smiling, talking, and moving around the pub before and after the incident, as well as the presence of physical contact during the drinking session.<br /> <br /> [Head of Investigation at Ansan Police Station: CCTV is the most objective evidence. When you look at the footage, you cannot indict based on this, and that is easy to understand. There was physical contact from before the sexual act, starting from the drinking gathering. (Can we interpret that contact or touching two or three hours before the act meant consent to the sexual act?) Because there are statements from employees and the suspect's statement, and he perceived that a normal person would judge it as such, it is hard to view that he recognized the victim was in a state of loss of mental faculties and took advantage of it.]<br /> <br /> Except for the day Danbi made the report, the police did not summon her for a separate investigation, and experts point out that wrapping up the case without an additional investigation into the victim constitutes shoddy police work.<br /> <br /> [Pyo Chang-won / Crime Profiler: Did the investigator in charge of this case properly understand the unique characteristics, cautionary factors, and aspects that can easily be overlooked in sexual violence cases?]<br /> <br /> [Oh Sun-hee / Lawyer and Former Prosecutor: They should have additionally verified whether the perpetrator's words were true. If they just intuitively say, "Oh, their stories are different. Let's choose the more convenient side," then it stops being an investigation and becomes nothing more than fortune-telling.]<br /> <br /> Netizens who encountered the case expressed angry reactions, such as, "How aggrieved must the bereaved family be to reveal the deceased's real name and face?" and "Investigate properly and punish the perpetrator."<br /> <br /> (Reported by Yoon Sung-sik | Video by Kim Na-on | Source: Unanswered Questions Episode 1500 | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.