<Australia Breaknews=Bo-Mi Yoon, Seoul>
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▲ The Korean community is required to pay attention to the proxy receipt of medicines by acquaintances. <Graphics = Rafael Lee> ©aubreaknews
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There have been incidents and rulings that require alertness regarding the receipt of courier services.
A female college student who received medicine sent to Korea on behalf of her in Australia and was accused of drug crimes will receive tens of millions of won in compensation. The drug is a general medicine that can be purchased in Korea without a doctor's prescription, but Australia considers the drug to be drug-based and punishes it.
According to the Korea Legal Aid Corporation on Tuesday, the Daegu District Court recently ruled that Kim, who sent medical supplies from Korea to Australia, should be compensated for 48 million won in damages for causing a female college student who received a parcel to be imprisoned instead.
A college student left for Australia for a working holiday in 2017 to study languages and work part-time, but met B there and stayed close. After returning to Korea, B contacted A and asked him to receive the package from Korea to Australia. It is a vitamin product recognized by the Food and Drug Administration, B said.
The man was arrested by a local airport police force at an Australian airport where he went to receive the parcel in January 2018. The charges were an attempt to import drugs containing narcotics.
Inside the six boxes that A was about to receive, there were about 100,000 cases of Shudopedrine hydrochloride, commonly used in Korea as a anti-inflammatory drug. In Korea, it can be easily purchased at a local pharmacy without a doctor's prescription, and there is no separate regulation under the Pharmacist Act even if medicine is exported, but in Australia, it is a drug that is strictly controlled as it is believed to contain narcotics.
A complained of injustice, saying, "I had no idea at all," but Australian law enforcement authorities put her in Adelaide's women's prison.
The family of A, who was in Korea, appointed an international lawyer through a local consulate in Australia, and appealed for a solution to the situation through a petition from the presidential office Blue House.
After such efforts, A was released after seven months of non-indictment and was able to return home.
While A was in the process of filing a lawsuit against B for damages, he found that Kim was behind B who actually led the delivery. The court accepted all A's claims and decided to pay Kim some 48 million won in damages.
A lawyer from the Korea Legal Aid Corporation, who conducted the lawsuit on behalf of A, said, "Unexpected mishaps often occur because the legislation related to medicine is different from other countries," adding, "If it is not confirmed what the contents are, it is desirable to refrain from receiving them in lieu of good faith."
The Korean community is also expected to need to be alert about the incident and the poor collection of courier agents.
news2020@aubreaknews.com
