By Yi Whan-woo
Police arrested an obstetrician in Seoul, Thursday, on suspicion of abandoning the body of a female patient who died after being injected with a sedative.
The Seocho Police said the 45-year-old doctor, surnamed Kim, confessed that he carried the dead body of the patient in her 30s to her car in a parking lot near the women’s hospital in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul and left her there.
According to police, the woman, surnamed Lee, and Kim had known each other for a year because she often received treatment at the hospital. Lee asked for a remedy from Kim several times whenever she had trouble sleeping.
Last week, the doctor injected five milligrams of a sedative into her body, but she didn’t wake up, and her heart stopped. Kim told investigators that he decided to dispose of her body secretly for fear that her death could harm the reputation of his hospital.
Investigators are looking into the exact cause of the death.
“We found out that they had been out with each other several times, and we’re questioning whether Kim tried to sexually abuse her after making her fall asleep on that day,” an investigator said.
The National Forensic Service said it found no evidence of sexual assault on her body. The body was found by a passerby on Tuesday who reported it to police. Lee’s body was lying on the seat inside her car in the scorching heat.
Kim turned himself in with his lawyer on Wednesday, and claimed that Lee’s death was accidental.
The doctor has worked in the hospital for years, police said.