Officer plotted attack on mother

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Officer plotted attack on mother

The senior police official who was charged Saturday with killing his mother, confessed yesterday that he had plotted the attack and intentionally dropped a bowling ball on her back three times in order to injure her and receive insurance money to pay back his mother’s debts.

But despite planning the attack, he told police, he didn’t mean to kill her.

The high-ranking policeman surnamed Lee, who led the violent crime department at the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency, admitted yesterday that he “suggested the crime to his mother to receive accident insurance money in an aim to pay about 20 million won ($17,953) for debt that his mother lost in stock trading,” according to the Dunsan Police Station in Daejeon.

Lee gave the following version of the attack to police: Lee told his mother, surnamed Yoon, 68, to take sleeping pills at about 9 p.m. on Jan. 21. He then left her apartment in Tanbang-dong, western Daejeon. At 11:27 p.m., assuming that Yoon was sleeping, Lee disguised himself with a motorcycle helmet, which he bought a day earlier, and pretended to break into the apartment, bringing along adhesive tape and a bowling ball.

Lee, after checking that Yoon was sleeping, moved her body with her chest down and dropped the bowling ball onto her back three times. After that, he tied her body loosely with the tape and broke some bottles to make it seem like an intruder had broken in.

But sometime after the attack, his mother died of shock from severe internal bleeding in the chest. Lee finally called police after about five hours.

“Lee had said at the first interrogation that it was his mother who suggested the plot, saying they would get paid about 50 million won if she had a serious spinal cord injury,” police said. “But Lee changed his remarks at the next interrogation, when he said he organized the attack.”

Lee insisted to police that he didn’t mean to kill Yoon and just intended to injure her, but police doubt the statement because he didn’t take Yoon to the hospital after the attack.

And the money problems had them wondering as well.

“It seems true that Lee’s mother had lost about 20 million won in stock trading and she had been contacted by creditors,” police said. “Although Lee paid back some of her debts, he also has been chased by her creditors.”

But police found that Lee also lost his money in stock trading, about 40 million won, and he might have targeted the insurance money by killing her to repay his debt.

Police said the investigation will focus on whether Lee plotted the crime with his mother and on the amount of Lee’s debts.

By Kim Hee-jin [heejin@joongang.co.kr]


Related Korean Article [중앙일보]

‘공공의 적’ 경관, 보험금 타려 어머니와 공모했다고?
“강도 위장뿐 살해의도 없었다”
형량 줄이기 허위 자백 의혹
존속살해 → 상해치사로 구속

결국 패륜 경찰이 입을 열었다. 그런데 범행 동기가 석연치 않다. 어머니와 짜고 보험금을 타내기 위해 사고로 위장하려다 잘못돼 어머니가 죽었다고 진술했다. 이러면 혐의는 존속살해가 아니라 상해치사로 바뀐다. 형량을 줄이기 위한 경찰대 출신 엘리트 경찰의 허위 진술이 아니냐는 지적이 제기되는 이유다. 하지만 죽은 어머니는 말이 없다.

대전둔산경찰서는 30일 대전지방경찰청 강력계장 이모(40)씨를 구속했다. 어머니를 때려 숨지게 한 혐의(존속상해치사)다.

경찰에 따르면 이씨는 “어머니의 빚 2000만원을 갚기 위해 상해보험금을 타내자고 내가 제안해 범행을 했다”며 “강도로 위장할 생각이었지 살해 의도는 없었다”고 진술했다. 이씨의 어머니 윤모(69)씨는 척추장애를 입으면 최고 5000만원의 보험금을 수령할 수 있는 보험 3개에 가입해 있었다. 경찰이 밝힌 범행 전모는 이렇다. …

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