 |
| The Supreme Court/ Korea Times |
By Oh Young-jin
Samples of urine and strands of hair sealed for testing without the presence of a suspected drug user are not admissible as legal evidence the Supreme Court ruled recently.
The ruling sent back to the high court the case against a man, 51, identified as Cha who was sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison for using methamphetamine or crystal meth.
The highest court stated, "It's important that the samples are not tampered with from their collection to their use as evidence
"But in this case, the samples were not sealed in the suspect's presence so it can't be said with certainty that the integrity of the physical evidence was maintained."
Cha was indicted for allegedly taking crystal meth on a tour around the nation in September 2016.
Police collected Cha's hair strands and urine without warrants, sealed them in a place where he was not present and sent them for forensic testing.
The tests showed traces of the drug but Cha claimed the samples didn't belong to him.
In the first and appeals trials, the court rejected Cha's claim and sent him to jail. Cha had a prior conviction for drug use.
![[INTERVIEW] Hip-hop group Uptown returns after 13 years with new lineup](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/0eae35da5e9c40c38cf439e550a2eb3e.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] ASTRO members aim to shine in musical theater](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/df16760dc50f469d93434f66a069465c.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
