[Subtitle News] "Evidence of Illegal Amputation" Bizarre Twist: Hospital Claims They "Thought It Was a Mannequin"

It has been suggested that the leg discovered at a recycling facility in Incheon may belong to an elderly patient in her 80s who was receiving treatment at a nursing hospital.

The Incheon Yeonsu Police Station announced that the leg found at the Nambu Regional Living Resource Recovery Center in Yeonsu-gu on the 10th may belong to a patient currently being treated at a nursing hospital in Incheon.

The police have requested an emergency forensic analysis from the National Forensic Service to determine if the patient's DNA matches the DNA of the discovered leg.

The results are expected to be available as early as this afternoon, June 18.

At the time of the discovery, there were various speculations due to the small foot size, with some guessing it belonged to a young child or a petite adult woman. However, the case took a turn when a nursing hospital in Jung-gu, Incheon, voluntarily reported the incident to the police.

The hospital reportedly stated that after necrosis occurred in the leg of an elderly patient in her 80s who was undergoing treatment, they amputated the leg and discarded it as medical waste. They claimed that a cleaning staff member mistook the limb for a mannequin and mistakenly disposed of it as recyclable waste.

It was determined that the amputated leg, wrapped in bandages, was loaded onto a recycling collection vehicle and transported to the recycling facility in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon.

The patient is currently alive.

If the DNA of the patient matches that of the discovered leg, the police plan to investigate the hospital for potential violations of the Wastes Control Act.

Previously, on the 10th at approximately 2:30 PM, a worker sorting recyclables at the Nambu Regional Living Resource Recovery Center in Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, discovered the severed human leg, prompting the police to launch an investigation.

The discovered body part measured approximately 41cm from below the knee to the heel and was wrapped in blood-stained bandages.

Initially, based on the size of the limb, the police considered the possibility that the victim was a young student and investigated the status of long-term absentees and unexcused absences at elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as special needs schools in the Incheon area.

However, based on subsequent forensic findings that the growth plates were closed, the police shifted their investigation under the assumption that the leg belonged to an adult between 161cm and 165cm tall.

Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Seo Byeong-uk | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.