A doctor who stole acquaintances' resident registration numbers to illegally self-prescribe psychotropic medications containing zolpidem and obtained them from a pharmacy, along with women who received and used the drugs, have been forwarded to prosecutors.

On September 21, the Gwangju Dongbu Police Station announced that it had transferred doctor A (in their 40s) and B (a woman in her 20s) into custody on charges including violations of the Narcotics Control Act, and forwarded two of B's female acquaintances without detention on the same charges.

Doctor A, who operates a hospital in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, is accused of illegally self-prescribing psychotropic drugs containing zolpidem in mid-July by using acquaintances' resident registration numbers without their knowledge.

Doctor A fabricated records to make it appear as though the acquaintances had received treatment at their hospital, issued prescriptions, and used these prescriptions to obtain and secure psychotropic drugs from a pharmacy in Jeonju.

Investigations revealed that A later provided the drugs to B and two other women whom they met at a hotel in Dong-gu, Gwangju, in South Jeolla Province later that month, and that B and the others ingested them.

After receiving a report from a hotel employee, the police conducted a two-month investigation, confirming that Doctor A had falsely prescribed and obtained psychotropic drugs and that the women had taken them, before forwarding the case to prosecutors.

(Photo: Yonhap News TV Capture, Yonhap News)