A man in his 40s who secretly put cleaner in food eaten by his family was arrested by police.
On Nov. 4, the Bundang Police Station in Gyeonggi said it arrested A as a flagrant offender on suspicion of attempted aggravated injury and is questioning him.
Police were dispatched to the scene at 11:35 p.m. on the 3rd to a dwellings in Jeongja-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, after receiving a report from A's wife, B, saying, "My husband seems to have put something in the food at home."
B found that a home camera had recorded A putting something into a jjigae and called police before eating the food. B said, "There have been several times when prepared food at home tasted strange before, and I even vomited, so I installed a home camera," and added, "A likely committed similar crimes in the past."
A told police, "I secretly put tile-cleaning detergent into the jjigae," while arguing, "I have never committed such acts in the past." Regarding a motive, A said, "B kept drinking alcohol in front of the child, so I did it to stop the drinking."
The cleaner A put into the jjigae on the day the report was filed was said to be a product used to clean bathroom tiles and the like, contained in a spray-type bottle. The bottle was labeled with ingredients commonly included in household cleaners, such as glycolic acid, purified water, and surfactants, and it reportedly also carried the warning, "Do not inhale or drink the product."
At the time of the report, B showed symptoms such as vomiting after eating the jjigae with the cleaner added, but there were no serious health abnormalities, according to reports. A and B live with one child under 10, and as of now there has been no statement from B that the child also suffered harm because of A.
Police plan to soon seek an arrest warrant for A and to broadly review whether there are additional offenses.