Police Fail to Arrest Suspect Wearing Electronic Bracelet in Pyeongtaek Incident
During the recent 'Pyeongtaek Veranda Intrusion Incident,' police officers were aware that the suspect, identified as A, was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet but chose not to arrest him. The Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency confirmed on January 7 that officers from the Pyeongtaek district police station had known about A's electronic bracelet from the moment they took him in for questioning regarding the alleged break-in.
On December 29, around 10:50 PM, A was accused of peering into the home of a woman living on the first floor of an apartment in Pyeongtaek. Reports indicate that he climbed onto an air conditioning unit and attempted to open a double-glazed window by about 10 cm to gain entry.
Upon noticing A, the woman shouted, "Who are you?" prompting him to flee. At the time, the woman was home alone with her young children.
After receiving the report, police identified A as a suspect within approximately 90 minutes. When officers arrived at his residence, A confessed to the crime. They observed that he was wearing an electronic bracelet on one ankle while changing from shorts to long pants. They also discovered that he had a history of sexual offenses.
Despite this, the police did not consider the situation serious enough to warrant an emergency arrest, opting instead to take A to the police station voluntarily. After a brief investigation, he was released back home.
The victim, upon learning that A had been released, fled with her children to a relative's house and is reportedly feeling anxious and seeking to move. Initially, police stated they only became aware of A's electronic bracelet after taking him to the station, claiming it was too late to secure him for an emergency arrest.
Five days after the incident, on January 3, police applied for a pre-arrest warrant for A. A police official stated that while they recognized A was wearing an electronic bracelet, they deemed the urgency insufficient for an emergency arrest. They are now working on measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
