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| On the left, a Chinese murder suspect enters a chapel on Jeju Island around 8:45 a.m. Saturday. On the right, he leaves the chapel three minutes later, after allegedly stabbing a Korean woman to death. / Yonhap |
Island residents worried about rising crimes by foreigners
By Jung Min-ho
A Korean woman, 61, has died after allegedly being stabbed by a Chinese tourist on the southern resort island of Jeju, police said Sunday.
According to the Jeju Seobu Police Station, the 50-year-old Chinese man allegedly stabbed the woman with a knife four times in a chapel in Jeju City at around 8:45 a.m. Saturday. She was praying at the time of the attack, police said.
While she was still conscious, she made an emergency call. Ambulance crews immediately brought her to a nearby hospital, where she underwent surgery. But she died the next day.
Afterwards, the suspect, identified as having the surname Chen, fled to Seogwipo, a southern city of the island, but was apprehended by police at 3:50 p.m.
Police believe that misogyny was the motive behind the murder.
"During questioning, the suspect said that she reminded him of his ex-wife, who cheated on him," said Park Ki-nam, chief of the police station. "The suspect and the victim were strangers to each other."
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Park quoted the suspect as stating that his two ex-wives left him for other men in China. "He said he visited the chapel to repent but lost control of himself when he saw the woman who resembled one of his ex-wives. It appears that he has a deep-seated resentment of women."
However, given that he visited the chapel at least twice before the alleged crime and bought the knife on the island, police are looking into whether he premeditated the murder.
On Sept. 13, the suspect entered Jeju Island, where Chinese tourists can stay for 30 days without a visa. Police said he was scheduled to leave on Sept. 22.
"Koreans and non-Koreans must comply with the rule of law here. If anyone violates it, he or she must be punished accordingly," Park said. "We will ensure that no criminals get away with their actions."
This is the latest major crime allegedly committed by a Chinese tourist on Korean soil. Only last week, police arrested eight Chinese tourists on the island for allegedly assaulting a female restaurant owner and other customers.
The incident occurred after the 53-year-old owner asked them not to drink alcohol they brought in from outside. When they tried to leave the restaurant, she told them to pay for the food they had already ordered. They attacked her and three other people who tried to stop them.
The number of crimes committed by foreigners on Jeju Island has increased in recent years, a trend that concerns many residents. Last year, 393 foreigners were arrested on charges of violating criminal law here, up from 90 in 2009, according to police.
Police arrested 347 foreigners until July this year, 59.2 percent up from the same period last year. Among them, 69.2 percent are Chinese.
The number of Chinese tourists on the scenic island has soared since 2008, when the government started allowing Chinese tourists to enter the island without a visa to boost tourism.
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