Police receive a finding from the National Forensic Service that a human leg found at a recycling facility in Incheon matches the DNA of a patient hospitalized at a nursing hospital. Photo shows a nursing hospital in Jung District, Incheon, on the afternoon of the 18th where the patient is hospitalized. /Courtesy of Yonhap News

Police concluded that the human leg found at a recycling facility in Incheon had been improperly discarded from a nursing hospital and belonged to a woman in her 80s who had been receiving treatment.

Director Lee Hyeon of the Incheon Yeonsu Police Station's criminal division said at a briefing on the morning of the 19th, "We were notified from the National Forensic Service's expedited analysis that the DNA of the discovered body part matches that of a patient hospitalized at the nursing hospital."

The Director said, "No indications of a violent crime were found," adding, "We will closely review possible violations of the Wastes Control Act and the Medical Service Act."

Police received a report at 2:28 p.m. on the 10th that an object believed to be a human leg had been found at the Songdo-dong Resource Circulation Center in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. Forensic examination confirmed it was a human leg.

Lee Heon, chief of the Criminal Division at Yeonsu Police Station, holds a briefing and speaks in a small conference room at the station on the morning of the 19th. /Courtesy of News1

Police pursued multiple possibilities to identify the owner of the leg, but a breakthrough came on the 17th when the nursing hospital voluntarily reported the matter.

At the nursing hospital, the leg of a woman in her 80s, identified as A, was amputated and discarded in a medical waste container with bandages wrapped around it, but a hospital volunteer apparently mistook it for plaster for a cast and put it in a recycling trash bag for disposal.

The Director said, "CCTV shows the volunteer moving the leg, placing it in a different bag, and taking it outside." He added, "It appears the volunteer mistook it for plaster because it was tightly wrapped in bandages and felt hard."

Police are investigating the hospital and those responsible for management for possible violations of the Wastes Control Act. They are also examining whether the amputation performed in a hospital room violated the Medical Service Act.

The Director said, "We plan to reach a conclusion on whether there are penalty provisions under the Medical Service Act through consultations with the medical association, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and attorneys," adding, "We will conduct a strict and swift investigation with expert advice on the Wastes Control Act and the Medical Service Act."

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