A prosecution investigation last year cleared person with mental disabilities who was wrongly accused of embezzlement, after police had refused to reinvestigate, according to news reports.
A forensic investigation by prosecutors demonstrated he was set up by his business partner, Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office said Tuesday.
The suspect had been suspected of embezzling 52 million won ($36,000) in 2022 while running a cellphone store in Seoul with their partner. At the time, police regarded the first suspect as the only person responsible because the business contract was under their name, and referred the case to the prosecution.
Prosecutors recommended in February and November 2023 that the police reinvestigate the case, citing doubts about whether someone with the suspects disabilities could have committed the crime. However, the police refused both times.
Prosecutors indicted the business partner, who was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison in April.
In May 2024, the prosecutors confirmed the first suspect's innocence by conducting their own forensic analysis of the suspects’ phones.
This revealed that the other suspect had manipulated message records to make it appear as though the now-exonerated suspect had given orders that had in fact been made by the business partner.
The partner admitted to the crime during an appellate trial in August, which confirmed their prison term.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
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