Suspect accused of killing 2, injuring 2 others to undergo psychopathy test
A suspect accused of killing two people and injuring two others will undergo a psychopathy diagnosis test, after his formal arrest earlier this week, police said Thursday.
Cha Cheol-nam, a Chinese national of Korean ethnicity, is accused of killing two brothers of the same Chinese-Korean background in Siheung, just southwest of Seoul, on Saturday before stabbing a convenience store owner and his landlord in separate incidents on Monday.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police's scientific investigation team assigned four criminal profilers to the case to analyze the 56-year-old and determine his motive.
Police plan to conduct the psychopathy test on Cha to check if he has characteristics of a psychopath. The test is scored out of 40 points, and subjects are usually determined to be psychopaths in South Korea if they score over 25 points.
Cha was apprehended by police Monday evening and claimed he premeditated the brothers' murder for not repaying him a loan of 30 million won ($21,500). A local district court issued a warrant to extend his detention Wednesday.
After holding a meeting of the identity disclosure review committee on Thursday, police decided to make the suspect's personal information and mug shots public "in consideration of the seriousness of the crime and the public interest."
His name, nationality and other information had already been made public following a wanted notice issued on the day of the stabbing incident. The released mug shots were taken after his arrest, officials said.