An woman in her 80s who stole five red bean buns for her ailing husband will receive government support instead of facing criminal punishment, police said Monday.
Officers at Goyang Police Station received a theft report at around 2 p.m. on April 2 involving an elderly woman who had taken five sweet red bean buns without paying. She was found to be a recipient of National Basic Livelihood Security benefits, a state welfare program that subsidizes living costs for low-income households.
Police also found that she had no criminal record and had been caring for her sick husband for 20 years. The woman told officers she wanted to feed her husband, who liked the buns.
The elderly couple received about 1 million won ($679) a month in government subsidies and pension payments, well below the minimum cost of living for a two-person household under Korean law. The money was barely enough to cover hospital fees for the husband, who suffers from dementia, cancer, cerebral infarction and other conditions.
The store owner asked police not to punish the woman. Police decided to refer her to summary proceedings, a process for dealing with minor offenses that does not lead to a criminal record.
Police also informed the woman that she and her husband may be eligible for emergency welfare assistance, which provides living expenses to people in urgent need. She reportedly told officers that she had not known about the program and thanked them for their help.
“We are obligated to respond to crimes, but we cannot turn a blind eye to offenses committed out of basic need, or to the hardships faced by socially vulnerable people,” an official at Goyang Police Station said.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
