By Lee Hyo-sik
A U.S. soldier is under police investigation for setting fire to a bar in Itaewon early Tuesday morning.
The Yongsan Police Station said Wednesday that it questioned the American military serviceman, identified as private ``P,’’ over allegations that he ran away from an Itaewon bar after setting the fire, following a dispute with the owner over the bill.
The bar sustained severe damage worth about 25 million won, according to firefighters dispatched to the scene.
The incident came a week after the U.S. Armed Forces ended a month-long late-night curfew on Nov. 7. The curfew, the first since July 2010, came after two recent sexual assaults on Korean women by U.S. soldiers.
Police officers said after receiving a report of arson at 2:40 a.m. Tuesday, they rushed to the scene and secured the witness accounts of what happened and what the perpetrator looked like. They also checked surveillance cameras installed in the areas to better identify the suspect.
``Officers searched the entire neighborhood and were able to apprehend the U.S. soldier, who later confessed to the crime. As soon as the questioning ends, we will charge him for arson without physical detention,’’ an officer said.
In a statement Wednesday, Brig. Gen. David J. Conboy, the 8th Army's deputy commander, said the unit was "aware of the incident."
"A U.S. soldier has been identified as a suspect and in accordance with the Status of Forces Agreement, we are fully cooperating with the (police) investigation," Conboy was quoted as saying.