"The test result was positive for hair..." Man in his 30s found not guilty on charges of using Philopon 'Why?'

At the time of the investigation, I was unable to control myself and the hair test came back positive.
Law "There are differences for each individual hair test... I cannot be sure that the medication was administered on the relevant date."

A man in his 30s who was put on trial on charges of using Philopon was found not guilty in the first trial.

The Wonju branch of the Chuncheon District Court found Mr. A not guilty on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act (hypotoxication) in December last year.

Mr. A was accused of administering methamphetamine at his residence in March of last year.

At the time, the police judged that the charges were clear, citing the fact that Mr. A showed abnormal behavior, such as not being able to control his body or self-harming, when he was arrested for a separate assault case, and that the National Institute of Forensic Science's hair analysis result tested positive for philopon.

Person A denied the charges.

It was claimed that although the substance could be detected in the hair due to the person's history of drug use in the past, there was no history of drug use on the date specified in the indictment.

Mr. A refuted, "A thorough urine test conducted 10 days after the incident resulted in a negative response," and "Considering the normal drug excretion period, if drugs had actually been administered, the urine test should have also come back positive."

In addition, it was emphasized that the abnormal behavior at the time of arrest was a blackout side effect caused by consuming cold medicine, sleeping pills, and alcohol due to extreme depression and stress.

The court ruled in Mr. A’s favor. The court explained, "It is true that narcotic substances were detected in the defendant's hair, but since hair tests vary from person to person, it is difficult to conclude from this alone that the drug was administered at the time stated in the indictment."

The court then questioned the credibility of the statement of Mr. B, a housemate, who was the only direct evidence.

The court added, "Mr. B is recanting his statement about how he witnessed the medication, and we cannot rule out the possibility that he made a false report out of revenge when the defendant reported him on assault charges at the time," and added, "Considering that the urine test result was also negative, it is difficult to say that the charge has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

Attorney Han Min-young of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, said, "The prosecution indicted based only on the defendant's abnormal behavior and positive hair results, but impeached the indictment by scientifically analyzing the timing discrepancy in the urine test results." He added, "Beyond simply denying the charges, medically and logically proving that the defendant's physical condition at the time was caused by the action of a combination of drugs, not drugs, can lead to a good result."

#Hair positivity #Philopon administration

Park Seok-ho (haitai2000@ikbc.co.kr)

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"The test result was positive for hair..." Man in his 30s found not guilty on charges of using Philopon 'Why?' (Shortcut)