Kaesong police officials recently covered up an alleged bicycle theft because a relative of the thief works in the police department, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a Daily NK source in Kaesong said that an unnamed “young man” in the city “had his newly purchased bike stolen in early December, but the local branch of the Ministry of Social Security closed the investigation when it learned the thief was a relative of a cadre in the agency’s investigation department.” The Ministry of Social Security is North Korea’s national police agency.
According to the source, the young man had returned home to Kaesong after being discharged from military service due to illness, but his family’s financial difficulties forced him to earn money.
The man received a new bicycle from his parents, but it was stolen a few days later. He had left the bike in front of his house to go inside for a short time, but it was gone when he returned.
With the help of neighbors, the man tracked down the suspected thief and immediately called the city police, but the other man had already sold the bike.
Hoping to recover the bike he needed to make a living, the young man went to the local police after several days had passed with no news of an investigation, an arrest, or the whereabouts of the stolen bike.
The young man learned from a police officer he knew that the police were trying to cover up the incident because the alleged thief was a relative of an official in the investigation division of the city police. The young man found out that they had not even opened an investigation.
Having little faith in the police, the young man went to the city prosecutor’s office to ask for a resolution. However, officials at the office told him to meet with the alleged thief and resolve the problem privately, rather than “tediously go through the motions.”
Eventually, the man met with the alleged thief, who promised to return the bike. However, as the end of the year approached, the other man had still not returned the bicycle.
The young man then asked the alleged thief where the person who bought the stolen bike lived, but the other man refused to say. Angered, the young man lost control and hit the other man on the head with an object. The young man ended up in police custody.
“Local people say the young man suffered a misfortune and are criticizing law enforcement officials like the Kaesong police and prosecutors for sticking together and treating the powerless as if they weren’t human,” the source said.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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January 10, 2024 at 11:30AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)