Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Two men broke into the home of an elderly couple in Higashimurayama, Tokyo, on Monday, and stole 4.6 million yen.
According to police, at around 1:15 a.m., the two men broke into the house of an 84-year-old man and his 83-year-old wife by smashing their first-floor bedroom window, Fuji TV reported. They threatened the couple with a box cutter and demanded money.
After the couple handed over 4.6 million yen which was hidden beneath the floor boards under the bed, the intruders bound the couple's feet and wrists and covered their mouths with tape before fleeing. The man suffered a light injury to his arm, police said.
Police said the woman managed to free herself and called her son for help.
The couple told police the men wore white face masks, appeared to be in their 20s and were about 170 cms tall.
Police said that about a week ago, a man identifying himself as a police officer called the man to warn him about phone scams and asked him if he kept any money at home. The man told the bogus officer that he kept a large amount of cash in the house.
© Japan Today
13 Comments
Login to comment
Chip Star
Police said that about a week ago, a man identifying himself as a police officer called the man to warn him about phone scams and asked him if he kept any money at home. The man told the bogus officer that he kept a large amount of cash in the house.
The police will never ask this question when issuing a warning. They will simply warn people about the risks and offer suggestions on how to reduce that risk.
Madden
How low can you be to rob elderly people like this? Shameful.
shogun36
Get real. Police never call anyone at home. That would take effort.
Omachi
i have had police call me at home, and doubting that they were police obtained their phone number to call back. I asked the desk sergeant at my local police station to make that call to confirm. They were for real and came to visit several weeks later on an investigative matter.
Serrano
Is it OK to say that I want to punch out these two scumbags who not only stole a large amount of money from this elderly couple, they threatened them with bodily harm and tied them up?
Serrano
How low can you be to rob elderly people like this?
Pretty low. They need to be punched out and locked up.
MSR Japan
Keeping large amounts of cash at home is one thing, admitting it is quite another !
Never the less I hope these scumbags get what they deserve fairly swiftly.
Vince Black
What type of idiots keep that much money in their home? They were asking to be robbed. At their age you’d think they’d know the world by now
Mr Kipling
“Under the floorboards” is my new investment strategy!
Mocheake
With all that loot around the house they should have invested in bars on the windows, and hidden cameras inside, and, most importantly, trusted NO ONE.
ryan
This is why we should never answer any calls from unfamiliar numbers, or at least if you are asked about any kind of personal information, just hang up immediately. I've read similar scam calls reported by people at sites like http://whycall.me since years ago. Open your eyes and keep spreading the word, folks.
Josh Abraham
Police came to my apartment twice in 3 years to check and took our names etc. Does happen but still surprises me that Japanese still like to keep cash at home lol. Still surprises me that Japan is a cash society.