| (Herald DB) |
The mother of an elementary school student said Wednesday that she filed for defamation charges against the owner of a self-service store in Incheon who publicly posted a photo of her son, falsely accusing him of stealing from the shop.
The child bought an ice cream priced at 800 won ($0.56) at the store in Seogu, Incheon, on Sept. 11, and wired the money to the bank account of the owner, as listed in the shop as a payment option. In the electronic bank transfer, he indicated his name and the item he bought to prevent confusion.
On Oct. 1, the boy found his photo posted in the shop with a note requesting that anyone who knows the boy contact the shop owner. The photo, extracted from surveillance footage, had been there for at least a week.
It turned out the owner mistakenly thought the boy did not pay for the item, as he had failed to check the transaction records. The owner apologized for the incident, but the mother contacted the police to seek punishment.
"The owner's rash actions severely hurt my son. ... I filed for charges (against the owner) because if I let this pass, other children may be subject to similar treatment," the mother was quoted as saying by local media outlets.
Police officials have interviewed the accuser and plan to question the shop owner.
