Seven Chinese nationals, including university students, have been arrested on suspicion of fraud after allegedly buying Apple Inc's laptops using student discounts in Tokyo for resale purposes, police said.
One of the seven, Zhao Li, a 51-year-old residing in Saitama Prefecture, is believed to have ties to the Chinese Dragon, the police said, referring to a gang formed primarily by second- and third-generation descendants of Japanese orphans left behind in China when Japan withdrew from the country at the end of World War II.
The Chinese nationals, including graduate students, allegedly conspired to purchase 11 laptops worth 3.13 million yen in May 2024 at a store in Tokyo's Ginza district by using a student discount program while concealing their intent to resell the devices.
Apple's student discount program prohibits resale within one year of purchase.
The police suspect that the purchased items may have been resold overseas.
Between February and August 2024, the group is believed to have purchased Apple products worth around 130 million yen using similar methods at six stores in Tokyo and nearby Kanagawa Prefecture, according to the police.
© KYODO
4 Comments
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sakurasuki
However when people need money, do they really considering that? They'll sell whatever they have.
Nibek32
No surprises there.
gaijintraveller
What a waste of time by the police. They help a huge company over a minor problem but will do nothing to help an individual who has been sold something blatantly faulty or not up to spec by a huge company.
This sounds like a civil matter not a criminal matter. It may be against Apple's terms and conditions, but that does not make it against the law.
I wonder if any Japanese working for a Japanese company resell something they buy from the company with a company discount. I doubt they would see anything wrong with this.
Jim
The prices of the products sold by Apple Inc in itself is a much bigger crime!