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A man and woman pretending to inspect an apartment robbed a real estate agent in Tokyo on Tuesday, the second such crime in March.
Police said the man and woman matched the description of the couple who robbed another real estate agent while inspecting an apartment in Tokyo on March 19. In that incident, they stole a wallet from the woman showing them an apartment in Koto Ward, but it only had 200 yen in it.
The latest incident occurred in Edogawa Ward, Sankei Shimbun reported. The couple had asked a real estate agent to show them an apartment. At about 2 p.m., a female employee in her 20s from the agency was showing them an apartment when the man threatened her with a knife and demanded she hand over her cash card and tell them the PIN number. The couple then fled.
The real estate agent was shaken but not harmed, police said.
Police said they are analyzing surveillance camera footage from outside the building to try and identify the couple who appeared to be in their late 40s or early 50s. The man is described as being about 185 cms tall and was wearing a gray overcoat. The woman, about 150 cms tall, was dressed all in pink.
© Japan Today
22 Comments
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Nobie
I cannot find the same news in Japanese. What are the sources of these news they introduce?
asiafriend
Well, that was a useless 10 seconds of reading in my life that I will never get back.
kaimycahl
@Strangerland *Stupid crime. Real estate agents in Japan do not make much money, and are unlikely to be carrying much. *Criminal robbers are opportunist they don't care about how much money they are going to get when attempting a crime, I would think their mind set is to get what ever they can without getting caught
kaimycahl
The couple had asked a real estate agent to show them an apartment. At about 2 p.m., a female employee in her 20s from the agency was showing them an apartment when the man threatened her with a knife and demanded she hand over her cash card and tell them the PIN number. The couple then fled. Simple just give them the wrong PIN number.
Police said they are analyzing surveillance camera footage from outside the building to try and identify the couple who appeared to be in their late 40s or early 50s. The man is described as being about 185 cms tall and was wearing a gray overcoat. The woman, about 150 cms tall, was dressed all in pink. Looks like the cops are looking for the Pink Panther and Hello Kitty from the description.
Mark
Made me laugh so hard.
Kumagaijin
Imagine the looks on their faces though after they opened the wallet...priceless!
Zaphod
Well, they can disguise any way they want, but real estate agents will be careful to meet with couples as easily recognizable as this from now on...
Sven Asai
That’s surely an only five minutes case. 185cm tall male, 150 cm and fully in pink... There surely aren’t so much couples with this description on the run, not even in big Tokyo. lol
rowiko68
@Goodlucktoyou, I do hope you're not being serious!
Pukey2
The victims were probably thinking, Damn, I really should have shown the apartments to those gaijins instead of these criminals.
Laguna
I carry bitcoin - in my mind.
Nagoya Chris
@Michael Machida I used to carry Bitcoin too, until I absent-mindedly left it on a train seat. Note to readers : do not carry Bitcoin if you are a real estate agent.
Nagoya Chris
@drlucifer lol !!!
Goodlucktoyou
Bad news for me. When I travel around japan, I sometimes visit real estate agencies. I maybe pretend I’m looking to rent. For free, they drive us around, showing the towns highlights, the different locations and free tea!
i think after reading this, I’m a bad person. They stole ¥200, but I did worst. I’m sorry.
Garthgoyle
I'm curious. Why would a real estate agent carry so much at the time of showing a property? I thought the transactions were always done at the office after all the paperwork.
drlucifer
You forgot to list the following items that she carries to work, all her handbags, jewelry, designer dresses, cosmetics.
Paul
That's interesting! What does it look like?
theFu
Just a thought.
Seems like snapping a photo of the couple outside the property and sending it to the office along with govt ID would be a normal thing. Around here, that's standard for the first meeting with a real estate broker ... or to take a car for a test drive.
No photo. No meeting.
Michael Machida
"Couple pretending to inspect apartment rob real estate agent"
My wife is a Real Estate Agent and she carries cash, credit cards, bonds, gold, silver, and sometimes bitcoin. So, yeah. The thieves are onto something.
buffalo
The pink panther strikes again
Strangerland
Stupid crime. Real estate agents in Japan do not make much money, and are unlikely to be carrying much.