[Herald DB]
[Herald DB]

A police officer who threatened a bar owner by falsely claiming to be conducting an inspection has been booked on criminal charges.

The Jeonju Wansan Police Station said Monday it had booked Sergeant A, an officer attached to the North Jeolla Provincial Police Agency, without detention on charges including attempted extortion.

Sergeant A is accused of threatening the owner of a bar in Wansan-gu, Jeonju, on June 25, claiming he was conducting an undercover restaurant inspection — a claim that was false.

Heavily intoxicated, the sergeant visited the bar and told the owner he was conducting an undercover inspection, then threatened to report the establishment for violations of the Food Sanitation Act.

He had gone to the bar alone after a departmental dinner and threatened the owner after his demands were not met.

Contrary to his claims, he worked in a unit with no authority to conduct any such inspection.

Police transferred Sergeant A to a frontline station in another district and said they planned to begin the process of relieving him of his duties the same day.

The sergeant told investigators he could not remember the incident because he had been heavily drunk at the time.


123@heraldcorp.com