A 64-year-old taxi driver was brutally beaten by the passenger of a Mercedes-Benz after a minor fender bender collision occurred, the Yongin Police Station said Sunday.
The victim told police that his car was parked in an alley when the other vehicle caused a minor collision as it was trying to park in the same spot at 2 a.m. on March 22.
The 31-year-old driver and accompanying passenger, 31, reportedly approached the taxi driver and apologized, offering to pay for the damages.
The taxi driver reportedly refused the financial compensation after smelling alcohol on the driver’s breath. The taxi driver claimed that he tried to call the police when the passenger started to throw verbal insults and physically beat him.
As the victim called 112 to report the traffic accident involving a DUI, the driver reportedly fled the scene. The passenger continued to physically assault the taxi driver until dispatched police officers arrived at the alley in Suji district, Yongin.
The taxi driver’s left rib was broken due to the physical assault. Doctors have recommended that the victim be hospitalized for four weeks.
Police, however, failed to launch a thorough investigation into the driver who was allegedly drinking and driving. Dispatched officers claimed that they were “unaware of the traffic accident report” and deemed it necessary to handle the physical assault situation first.
It is said that the official in charge of traffic accidents failed to thoroughly read the initial accident report filed by the taxi driver. Over five hours had passed, at 9 a.m., when the investigator tried to call the suspect who fled.
Photo courtesy of the victim (Yonhap)
Police were only able to get hold of the suspect three days later and asked him to come in for questioning on charges of fleeing the scene of a traffic accident on March 25.
The suspect denied drinking alcohol prior to driving and claimed to have fled the scene without filing the accident report because his “girlfriend was waiting on him.”
Police have sent the cases to the Prosecutors’ Office. The driver of the vehicle is accused of violating traffic laws, specifically fleeing the scene of an accident, while the passenger faces physical assault charges.
By Catherine Chung (
cec82@heraldcorp.com)