Police on Tuesday said that a female employee at Toyohashi Municipal Hospital had given the address and phone number of one of its female patients to a man, who had claimed he was her brother and was worried his niece was being subjected to abuse.
The man, Kenji Saito, a 40-year-old truck driver, was not the patient’s brother and had stalked the woman before. The woman had to change her place of residence to escape him, police said.
Saito was arrested on Feb 7 and charged him with assault, after he allegedly grabbed the woman from behind, near her home at around 10 a.m. that morning.
Police said that Saito and the hospital employee met at a bar about five years ago. Saito went to the hospital on Feb 4 to talk to her. Saito told the employee of the hospital that his sister had run away home from home, taking money with her, and that he was concerned for his niece’s welfare. The employee believed Saito when he correctly told her the patient’s daughter’s date of birth, and emailed the patient’s new address and phone number to Saito on Feb 6, police said.
Police believe Saito then lay in wait for the patient near her home the next morning, when he approached her from behind. Police tracked down Saito later that day and arrested him.
© News reports
16 Comments
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likeitis
I sincerely hope this results in no changes to the hospital systems. This is one nut job who happened to have a very good story and correct information. Its a one off deal.
If we change things, then expect to get the third degree at the reception desk while your wife is dying on the fifth floor. That will be more a more common scenario than the deal with this loon.
Feel sorry for the woman though. How did the crazy stalker know she was in the hospital anyway?
Also, I hope the hospital employee does not get in trouble for this. They have to make judgment calls. They just have to, and there will be errors.
mikihouse
the proper way to handle it? first ask the name of the one asking, his contact details and then ask the patient by calling her number or via correspondence then let the patient contact the person. Its a normal protocol
mikihouse
hospital staff? kubi
smartacus
Stalkers are cunning. They always find a way to get the info they want.
soldave
mikihouse - you see that would be the logical way to do things, and this is Japan...
alohajapan
What was the hospital employee thinking? Is she really that ignorant? I hope they change the way these employees handle patient's personal info. They have got to fire this stupid person before she spreads her stupidity around the rest of the hospital.
nath
Freaky! I feel sorry for the girl. Plenty of fish in the sea...
what is the point of stalking someone?
LFRAgain
You answered that in your own question. He's a crazy stalker.
I'm just glad she wasn't hurt. It wasn't until recently that city offices made it more difficult to obtain detailed resident information about virtually anyone with a simple request and a 300円 fee. Turns out some warped a-hole was trolling through the resident rolls searching for any women who were registered as living alone, then visiting them and raping them.
Privacy issues in Japan are slowly but surely getting sorted out, but the sad part is that with the increased protection of privacy, so too does the sense of neighborhood and community diminish.
medievaltimes
Exactly.
boarder
Fired!! And hopefully no lawsuit...
BBLeo
Female employee had a good intention, but she should first consult hospital security or head of Administration. She is in breach of patient confidentiality. 'Suspended sentence please!'
gogogo
I there were more lawyers in Japan to sue over this... this is a life threatening situation.
nath
A friend of mine was going through a divorce. The office staff at my work place not only gave out his full name and address etc. but also his bank he used. They stalked him, planted tiny video cams and recorded his ATM number. After that they changed his password. He could not access. He stopped electronic deposits as well as monthly payments to her during the separation. She had a stupid lawyer!
yawmin
hospitals in the US will not give you a patients info with just a DOB, it is a lengthy process. It seems daily problems in japan and US and the way we handle them, differ so greatly. . .
ca1ic0cat
The good news is that she wasn't killed and the creep is in jail. But for how long? The poor woman will probably have to move again. Since the creep probably knows where her parents live and where she works that might not help a lot. This poor woman is likely feeling very frightened and powerless, if you will allow me to put words in her mouth. This guy should be locked up for a long time so that she can have some peace. He should have to pay for her moving expenses, etc. I doubt any of that will happen, but it should.
likeitis
But the thing is, this is not a daily problem. I am glad I do not have to go through such rigorous screening for many things here, all on account of one nut job that should be spending his life in a mental hospital.