Daegu police want BBC to retract story

The Daegu police said yesterday they will demand Britain’s BBC and Daily Mail run corrections to stories which reported that policemen took bribes to hush up sexual misconduct during the trouble-plagued Miss Asia Pacific World competition.

Amy Willerton, 19, who represented the U.K. during the pageant from Oct. 1 to 15, told several British media outlets that contestants were offered better scores in return for having sex with organizers.

She also said the situation was covered up by organizing officials, who she claimed paid off the Daego police officers dispatched to a hotel to respond to complaints of sexual misconduct. Organizers denied allegations of sexual misconduct or bribing the police.

Willerton withdrew from the pageant.

“We have analyzed footage from CCTVs installed in the hotel lobby, conducted a reenactment and given a lie detector test to policemen who were dispatched to the scene. We concluded that these policemen did not receive money from the organizers,” said an officer from Daegu Police Station. “Therefore, we decided to request a right of reply.”

Police also said that Willerton told the Daegu police via telephone that she “saw the organizer of the competition take out a wallet in front of the police, but didn’t see money being handed over,” and that “the media may have distorted the facts.”

“As false information was reported all over the world through foreign media outlets,” the Daegu police officer said, “inflicting damage on the reputation of the Korean police, we will make sure corrections are made.”

The Daegu police will send their request for corrections and a right of reply through the British Embassy in Seoul.

By Yim Seung-hye [sharon@joongang.co.kr]