A U.S. soldier was being questioned by South Korean police on Sunday on allegations of raping and beating a local woman in her late sixties.

The police sought an arrest warrant for the 23-year-old GI, who was only identified by his initial G. He punched the 67-year-old woman in the face and raped her in a narrow path of a residential area in western Seoul around 6 a.m. Sunday, police said.

Police officers who were patrolling the area heard the woman scream, ran to the scene and caught the soldier as he tried to escape, they said. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital with an injury that was not life threatening, they said.

The man exercised his right to remain silent except to identify himself as a member of the United States Forces Korea. After legal officers of the U.S. military arrived, he began to cooperate with the probe, the police said.

The police said they will seek a warrant to take custody of the soldier for the investigation, according to the South Korea-United States Status of Forces Agreement. Under the agreement, Korea can assume jurisdiction over such serious crimes as murder, rape, or arson.

The United States currently has 30,000 soldiers stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against possible aggression by North Korea.

Seoul, Jan. 14 (Yonhap News)