The bereaved family of a late prisoner who died of COVID-19 when a mass infection hit a detention center in Seoul has filed a damages suit, accusing the state of failing to protect high-risk inmates like him and neglecting the problem of overcrowding at the facility.

The deceased, who was in his 70s at the time and was suffering from diabetes, died in December 2020, when nearly 800 new cases of COVID-19 infections were reported at the Seoul Dongbu Detention Center.

His family filed a lawsuit suit with the Seoul Central District Court, seeking 31 million won (US$23,736) in compensation, claiming the state violated the duty to protect high-risk prisoners and neglected the problem of overcrowding at the facility.

The inmate tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 25, 2020, then died about two weeks later while being taken to a hospital. The lawyers accused the detention center of failing to transport him to an outside hospital swiftly even though he had complained of difficulty breathing the previous day.

The lawyers also pointed to overcrowding of the detention center, which had an occupancy rate of 116 percent at the time. The family could not see the body of the deceased because the state unilaterally cremated his body, the lawyers added. (Yonhap)