Father Detained for Killing Mentally Ill Son
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
A 64-year-old man was apprehended Sunday on charges of murdering his 45-year-old son who had been suffering from a mental illness.
The incident took place after the father, identified by his last name Lee, called an ambulance to his home in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province, Saturday, to take his son to a hospital.
However, as soon as the son was strapped into the stretcher inside the vehicle, the father took out a knife from his jacket and stabbed him twice, before emergency workers could stop him. Police arrested him on the spot.
According to Lee's family, the deceased son had suffered from psychiatric problems since 1984, when he finished his military service. The son allegedly called up his father repeatedly, swearing and threatening him, leading to a stay in a psychiatric hospital in 2006 over alcohol abuse.
Even after the son came out of the hospital, he allegedly kept threatening the family and was repeatedly put into the hospital for treatment.
Lee's family said financial difficulties from treating the sick son could have been the cause of the crime ― when they went to the police station to see Lee, he allegedly said, ``The case is over. Now you can all go to bed.''