Aichi Prefectural Police report that on the night of July 30 a 73 year-old woman was walking through Nakagawa Ward in Nagoya, the prefecture’s capital city, while carrying two handbags. Suddenly, a boy of 14 or 15 years of age came up behind her and snatched her belongings, sprinting off as his energetically youthful legs carried him off into the night.
But luck seemed to be on the woman’s side, as the crime took place in the sight of another young man of about the same age as the purse snatcher. “I’ll catch the thief,” he gallantly promised, “so wait here.” And with that, her would-be spry savior was off in hot pursuit.
However, the second youth never came back. Granted, being kind of heart doesn’t make you fleet of foot, and it could have been that the thief simply outran him. But even in that case, shouldn’t he have come back to tell the woman he’d been unable to catch the thief, considering that he’d told her to wait there at the scene of the crime?
In actuality, it turned out that the second boy hadn’t failed in his attempt at justice, but had succeeded in his secret criminal ambitions. When he didn’t return, the woman instead reported the theft to the police, and on Sept 19, the authorities announced that they arrested the boy who offered to help the woman, since he was in on the purse-snatching from the very start.
A total of three arrests have been made in relation to the incident: a 15 year-old Nagoya junior high school student, a 15-year-old Nagoya high school student, and a 14-year-old junior high schooler from Oharu, the town neighboring Nagoya (which specific role each played has not been made public). By having one member of the group offer to catch the thief, and telling the woman to wait where she was, they hoped to delay the report of the crime until they’d made their collective escape.
The three boys had become acquainted on Twitter, and when questioned by the police said they’d committed the crime because “We wanted money to have fun with.” They pegged the value of her stolen belongings at a very specific 15,200 yen.
It’s sad to think that the woman managed to simultaneously become the victim of a selfish crime and what outwardly appeared to be a random act of kindness. While this isn’t a common M.O. for criminals in Japan, it’s worth remembering that a genuinely moral person who recovers your belongings will turn them over to the authorities, who can then reunite them with you as long as the theft is on record.
Source: Yahoo! Japan News/Asashi Shimbun Digital via Hachima Kiko
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8 Comments
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DaDude
Why was the 2nd boy even needed? It is not like the 73 year old was going to catch the 15 year old. Unless it was insurance so she didn't call police.
Lorem ipsum
Read the article from start to finish and you will know why the second boy was needed.
Goodlucktoyou
I think at age 15, they can work part time in a combini and not destroy their parents careers. And still have fun.
smithinjapan
TIJ. They won't be named or shamed. They won't suffer any consequences. They will do it again.
thepersoniamnow
Osaka Doug
I don’t think robbing the elderly constitutes as being “creative and energetic”and simply needing a respectful role model and guidance and walls, all good.
No sir, these are bad young people, who are thieves and steal from the weak and elderly. They are not creative or energetic. I call them cowards and pathetic. Even at 14-15 there’s no way I’m stealing from an old lady.
theFritzX
Thepersoniamnow, I completely agree!
OsakaDoug, Im dumbfounded by your post.
Ex_Res
I can actually remember a time when incidents like this were unheard of in Japan.
Japan was renowned for respect for the elderly, hard working good samaritan school children, low crime and no street crime or theft.
Seems to have been a massive decline in the social and moral fabric of the country.
But when I see comments such as :
These guys seem to have a lot of creativity and energy indeed!...and just need a respectful role model and guidance to help them refocus their energy.
I hope someone in business or government will recognize the talent, and offer these three training or part time job to help in software programming or other challenging position. The are probably bored with their junior high school routine.....and simply need more challenge!
is it any wonder thimgs have gone the way they have in Japan.