According to a May 5 report in the Chosun Ilbo, a major South Korean daily, a police officer who arrived on the scene of a reported rape in progress in Suwon, the capital of Gyeonggi-do Province, failed to help the female victim claiming he misunderstood the situation as being an act of mutual consent, even though the perpetrator, a man in his twenties, was wearing an electronic ankle monitor and had a history of sexual offense.
The report stated an officer rushed to the scene in response to a tip and found two people engaged in an act of sexual congress. “When I got there, I found them having sex; it looked very natural and the man didn’t appear to have any kind of weapon, I could only assume the act was consensual.” As such, the officer decided to “observe the situation” for a while.
Further trying to justify his lack of action, the office stated, “Even if, for example, the man was committing a sexual assault, I thought that if I tried to break it up while he was in the middle of the act, it could be dangerous for the woman.” Thus, the officer continued to “monitor the situation” for one hour. People throughout the country became enraged upon learning of the incident, and strong criticism has been leveled at the police for standing by and doing nothing to help the women even though an officer was on the scene.
Seriously? Someone reported there was a rape in progress and he didn't even think he should try to act just in case?