Photo : KBS News
Police say a Jeju police officer who is accused of closing missing persons cases prematurely and falsifying records in the police database may also have deleted records on additional cases.
The Jeju police said Monday that the officer either failed to enter data into the system for 63 missing people, or he deleted it between March 10 last year and July 23 this year.
Although system entry is not mandatory for false reports or in cases where the missing person has been found, it’s uncertain whether any of the 63 cases were closed in accordance with proper procedures.
The officer closed 235 other cases during the 16-month period, considerably more than other officers on the same missing persons team, and police say this was because he handled the task more often as the youngest member on the team.
The investigation follows the discovery last week of the body of 37-year-old Jang Mi-ran, who was reported missing in mid-May in a case the officer handled.
It came out later that the officer closed the case after lying to Jang’s family, saying he’d contacted her and confirmed she was safe.