[imText1]Last May, it was discovered that 3 defectors in hiding and living in dug-out tunnels were caught by Chinese border guards at a hill near Antu Village in Yanbian, Jilian province, China.
One source associated with the Jilin border guards in Yanbian office revealed that “On May 31st at a hill near Antu Village, Antu boarder guards, in collaboration with public officers from the neighborhood, arrested 3 defectors.”
It has been disclosed that of the three defectors, 1 person, in addition to being charged for ‘illegally crossing a river’ is also under suspicion of ‘attempted rape,’ while the other 2 people are being investigated for suspicion of ‘theft.’
According to the source, it was inferred that on May 18th, the defectors arrived at Antu by following mountain paths and crossed the river in the vicinity north of Musan, North Korea. They dug-out a tunnel in the mountain and while living and hiding there, became in need of food, and thus began to steal dried corn and livestock from the nearby farmhouse.
A village resident, Mr. Chang, had 4 chickens stolen on May 22nd, and Mr. Cho lost one cow on May 26th. The village residents verified seeing blood stains from the slaughtered chickens and cows near the caves where the defectors were living.
Furthermore on the 29th, ‘Park’, a girl of the same village, managed to barely escape a violent attack by an unknown man. The village residents requested a criminal investigation by the Antu border guards on the morning of 30th, stating that “The suspicious appearance is threatening the safety of the village.”
Following the information from the residents, the Antu border guards “Recently witnessed smoke frequently coming from the hill behind the village, and on May 31st searched the hill for 4 hours, arresting 3 people.
At the time of arrest, the entrance of the tunnel which the defectors had been hiding in was covered with plastic and pine branches, though the interior was a small space where 3 people could not possibly lie down with their legs stretched out.
It was revealed that at time of the arrest, Antu border guards confiscated 1 knife, 2 axes and beef soaking in a small bucket from the interior of the tunnel as evidence.
The source from Yanbian revealed that “Upon completion of the investigation of suspicious theft and attempted rape, these people will be sent back to North Korea.”
