The incident shocked the local community when five people dined together at a restaurant in Bonghwa County, North Gyeongsang Province, then moved to a senior citizens' hall (a meeting place for the elderly) where they had drinks and each collapsed some time later.
Three of them were safely discharged from the hospital, but the last hospitalized woman in her 80s died and one is still in critical condition. Police are focusing on the fact that the time when the women collapsed and the route they took to ingest the pesticide were different.
Unlike the other four, Ms. A, an 80-year-old woman who died, collapsed three days later and testified that she had not drunk the iced coffee that was in the refrigerator at the Respect for the Aged Day Hall.
It was also confirmed that three additional insecticide and fungicide ingredients different from those found in the four other people were detected in Mr. A's stomach washing fluid.
In an interview conducted by the police the day after the accident, Mr. A was able to talk and showed no abnormalities in his health.
The police are investigating whether there was another way to take the drugs. In addition, they have found that Mr. A had withdrawn cash from a bank before being hospitalized, and are investigating whether this is related to the incident.
A police source said, "It is true that A gave money to the family," but added, "The amount was not significant."
Immediately after the incident, the police formed a specialized investigation team and focused on solving the case.
The police are still not sure if the suspects have been identified or if there is any way to solve the case. The police suspect that this case may have arisen from a dispute between residents, similar to the case of the "Sangju (Changzhou) Pesticide Cider Case" that occurred in the past.
The police are investigating the matter from multiple angles, as they believe that the allegations are highly suspicious. They have also reportedly secured some statements, such as "there was discord among the members of the Respect for the Aged Day Hall."
A police official said, "We are currently receiving various statements, and we will verify these statements and consider them from multiple angles.
We are investigating."
2024/08/14 12:05 KST
Copyrights(C) Edaily wowkorea.jp 85