“It is true that I entered the detention center because I was guilty, but I am not sure if it is okay to get coronavirus.”
[보이스] Eastern detention center that day, inmates’ resentment
At the end of December last year, Mr. A, who had a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) at the first total inspection at the Eastern Detention Center in Seoul, said, recalling a corona nightmare of about a month. He was released in the middle of last month and was judged to be cured, but he said his taste and smell were not normal yet. He also lost 5kg and complained of insomnia.
Like Mr. A, the number of prisoners in the eastern detention center who were collectively infected with Corona 19 was 1176 as of the 4th. That’s half of the total number of people in the eastern detention center. Infected detainees complained in the detention center for about a month, saying,’There was no proper treatment and quarantine measures, and human rights were ignored.’ On the one hand, they criticized such dissatisfaction, saying, “I went to a detention center to eat a warm meal?”
Mr. A, who was transferred to Cheongsong Prison after being confirmed as Corona 19 at the Eastern Detention Center, was released in the middle of last month and interviewed the JoongAng Ilbo.
What would A, who suffered from Corona 19 at the Eastern Detention Center and Cheongsong Prison, think of this problem? I heard the story of Mr. A on the 2nd.
- How long was the eastern detention center?
- After entering last summer, I moved to the second prison in northern Gyeongbuk (Cheongsong prison) at the end of last year, where I came out in the middle of last month.
- How did you get notification of confirmation from the detention center?
- On December 18, last year, he was confirmed as confirmed during the first thorough examination at Dongbu Detention Center. I didn’t get any official notice. I was sleeping the day after the prosecutor, and suddenly the guards turned on the lights and came into the room and told me to move the room. When the anxious prisoners clamored to let them know if they were confirmed here and there, one of the prison guards informed them that “all the people here are confirmed” if they were sad. A week later, about 350 of the confirmed detention centers went to the life treatment center established in the second prison in northern Gyeongsang Province (Cheongsong prison). Everyone in our room also went.
- The reaction of the colleagues at the time.
- It was frustrating because they were all the same confirmed patients, but it was even more frustrating because they all did not have knowledge about the corona. However, no matter how much I didn’t know, I thought,’Can I put all the corona confirmed patients in one room like this?’
- How did you get treatment?
- There was no cure at the eastern detention center. I took the medicine as a group and ate it. I had a friend in my mid-30s who was in the same room, coughing and bleeding from phlegm, so I asked for treatment several times, but the guards pretended not to know.
- The prison guards, not the medical staff, give the medicine as many as the number of prisoners at once. I didn’t know what to eat because I didn’t have common sense about medicine. When I asked, “What is this drug?” he didn’t answer. It was different from medicine given in hospitals and the like.
- Is the quarantine of the confirmed person done well?
- People from this room and that room were all mixed up. Two people left our room and two new people came in, but they didn’t tell us whether it was confirmed. I didn’t know what standard people were mixed with, so I asked the guards later that it was in the order of'(personal) number’. In a word, it was a mess.
On the afternoon of the 6th of last month, at the Eastern Detention Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, an inmate is showing a piece of paper with the phrase’Incompetent Ministry of Justice, Incompetent President’ through a grate. News 1
- I must have had a lot of complaints
- Among the prisoners, there are many pending sentences whose older brother has not been confirmed. So, I usually don’t behave with guards. There are also jail sanctions and it affects the trial. However, dissatisfaction accumulates, and as anger reaches its peak, he swears, spit, and throws the lunch box. I don’t know if I ordered it that way, but the guards are of course uncomfortable. Then, on December 21st, around 1~2am? In the middle of the night, there was a whistling sound in the hallway. And suddenly, I heard the sound of the door smashing. Seeing that the guards in the corridor ran away in surprise, and two prisoners came out of the door.
- Is your visit so lax? Is it possible?
- Most believe it is 100% impossible. I wanted to know how to open the door by kicking it, but I opened it and came out. And maybe 10 minutes have passed. About 10 CRPT (mobile patrol team) who extinguished riots in detention centers wearing berets brought electric rods or similar to suppress them. The two prisoners were taken one by one by the CRPT under their armpits. Colleagues who saw the situation said, “Let’s never go outside and talk like this.” I would say, “How does the detention center door fall off (so easily)?” It was said that the Eastern detention center wouldn’t even admit it until this story was brought out, and that it wouldn’t be articleized.
- It sounds like a lie.
- Of course you can think so. It would be great to have a cell phone or camera, but everyone who saw the situation would tell the same story. Isn’t there a reason for me to make up this story and bring it out?
- How have you been down to Cheongsong?
- In the eastern detention center, no matter how much yelled after dinner, the guards did not come to the prisoners’ room. Of course, I couldn’t buy goods, send and receive letters, and interview attorneys. Rice froze hard. The warm water didn’t come out and I took a cold bath. Cheongsong was worse than the eastern part. It was a night at about -18 degrees Celsius, and the guards said they were ventilating, leaving the corridor window open and entering. It was so cold that I couldn’t sleep. There was no answer when I screamed all night for the window to be closed. It was like a nightmare. I endured with two hot packs.
- Some criticize’how much more should I take care of inmates?’
- I think I get the guilty price of course. It is true that he entered the detention center because he was charged with a crime. Some of the people in detention centers other than me will be innocent according to the results of the trial. Still, there is a principle that Korea is supposed to be innocent. Basic human rights though…
- People are criticizing,’Isn’t there a detention center to be comfortable and safe?’
- You can eat cold rice and bathe in cold water. This criticism is natural because it is an undecided vote but was arrested. However, the question is whether I know if I have coronavirus or do I have the right to receive treatment?
- Are the prison guards helping the detainees at the risk of infection or threat?
- Because they were correctional officials, they would have done the best they could, but the detention centers and those who were higher than them were interested in other places, so they couldn’t be more active.
- Was there a guard who took good care of you?
- Most of the prison guards didn’t respond well no matter what the prisoners asked and just passed by. But some of the guards said, “Please wait a bit. If you wait with hope, it will get better.” He sometimes says a warm word. When I moved to Cheongsong, I was worried, “I came to Cheongsong by ordering it from above, but nothing here is ready.” Even though the guards wanted to be good, they felt sorry for the lack of personnel.
- Former President Lee Myung-bak was temporarily released after the first thorough investigation on December 18. How was the audience’s reaction?
- I saw the news later and found out. The prisoners collapsed a lot, saying,’Strong people go out like that even if they don’t get coronavirus.’ Who hears that tantrums are also tight and frustrating. We just vomit resentment among us
- The collective infection broke out and the politicians said a word later.
- I also saw an apology from former Minister Choo Mi-ae, and at that time, complaints and complaints against Choo reached the peak. It would have been okay if Former Minister Chu did not fight with Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and paid attention to the corona. Even if the 2nd-4th group infection occurred, he didn’t care at all, but half of the prisoners were confirmed, so he was sorry. It’s worse than a crocodile’s tears. Minister Park Beom-gye was also inaugurated and visited the Eastern Detention Center first, hoping that it was not a show ceremony.
Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae visited the Seoul East Detention Center on the 26th of last month to express gratitude for the hard work of the Seoul East Detention Center staff. yunhap news
- I suffered from a coronavirus outbreak for over a month. Looking back.
- I didn’t even believe that it was confirmed for several days after being tested for corona at the end of last year. I didn’t even think I was caught because the detention center didn’t respond. Doesn’t this make sense, at the government agency. I thought it was too easy.
Reporter Kim Tae-ho [email protected]
Video = Jeongsukyung PD