It belatedly came to light that a female inpatient in her 30s fell to her death at a psychiatric medical institution that had received a correction recommendation from the National Human Rights Commission for unjustly restraining patients for long periods.
According to the Ojeong Police Station in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, at about 5:30 p.m. on the 12th, a female inpatient in her 30s, identified as A, fell from a fifth-floor ward of a psychiatric medical institution in Ojeong-gu, Bucheon, to the first floor and died.
A police investigation found that A left her ward during dinner meal service, went into another ward, and fell through a window.
The window in the ward where A had been staying had a security fall-prevention safety net installed, but the window in the ward she moved to did not.
Police determined it was difficult to find the hospital responsible and handled the case as an unattended death.
Earlier, six people connected to the psychiatric hospital, including the director and doctors, were sent to prosecutors on charges of illegally isolating or restraining 52 patients from 2024 to Aug. last year.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) confirmed that 52 patients were illegally restrained, including one whose both arms were bound for 10 months, and issued a correction recommendation to the hospital.
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