The suspect who had been arrested by the police on suspicion of murdering a Chinese woman whose body was found deserted on Jejudo Island was freed late Tuesday due to lack of evidence.

The man had been a prime suspect as he had been a frequent visitor to the bar where the victim had worked. His cellphone showed records of text messages exchanged with the victim. He had also privately met with her at nighttime prior to her disappearance.

However, further police inquisition revealed the man lacked motive and had specific alibis for the presumed time of her death. He was freed within forty hours of arrest.

“Still there were progress to the investigation as we could confirm the victim’s whereabouts before death and other pertinent leads,” the police said. 

The 22-year-old victim had arrived in Korea in October, 2015 and overstayed her tourist visa to work at a bar in Jejudo Island.

She was found dead with six wounds from a sharp object in a field near Seogwipo on April 13.

DNA test results from National Forensics Service indicated the victim was not sexually assaulted before her death.

The NFS also confirmed the victim’s identity using a fingerprint taken from the index finger of the body.

Police are in the process of delivering the news to the victim’s family, who live in Southern China, through the Chinese Embassy.

Based on the extent of the body’s decomposition and the statements made by the bar owner where the victim had worked in December that she disappeared before completing the first month’s work, the police estimate that she died around the end of last year when she suddenly became unreachable.

The bar owner said that “everyone thought she just went away without saying anything” and that no one had tried to report the case as they feared her illegal employment would adversely affect their business.

An additional 10 police officers have been assigned to the investigation team working on the case.

The police think the murder took place somewhere other than where the victim’s body was discovered, as the owner of a nearby barley field stated that he had not noticed anything out of the ordinary in December and January, when he had worked on the fields.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)