crime

Man abandons mother’s body in apartment; tries to get money from her bank account

11 Comments

Police in Tokyo have arrested a 46-year-old man on suspicion of abandoning the body of his 83-year-old mother and trying to fraudulently withdraw money from her bank account.

According to police, Takahiro Fujihara, a construction worker residing in Saitama Prefecture, is accused of not reporting the death of his mother Masako last August for about 10 days, Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said Fujihara claims to have discovered his mother dead when he visited her. He was quoted by police as saying he was shocked and didn’t know what to do and left. He told the apartment manager that his mother had been hospitalized.

About 10 days later, following a complaint about foul odor, an apartment resident, who was taking care of Masako, entered the apartment using a spare key and found her body.

During those 10 days, Fujihira asked a female neighbor to impersonate his mother so he could withdraw cash from Masako’s bank account. However, the withdrawal failed.

Police said an autopsy found that Masako, who had lived alone since 2013, died of heatstroke.

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11 Comments
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The sheer number of people who don't report the death of a family member in order to continue receiving pension payments, or continue using bank account funds, would suggest there is a particular problem within society.

What specifically connects the people who do this? Is it a mental illness thing? Are these people all earning significantly below the breadline incomes? Are these people all reliant on financial support from their family? Are these people all affected by some kind of learning disorder? Did all these people feel some specific ill will towards the family member?

I can understand falling out or losing touch with a family member, or even drifting apart - meaning the death of a close family member doesn't have as big an impact on someone. But it's something else entirely to know of someone's death and not report it, or roll them up in carpet and put them in a closet, or wrap them in a futon and lock them in a bedroom - and then continue on with your life, and milk their bank account.

There's something specifically wrong there, and I never hear any social commentary surrounding this behaviour.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

He sounds like a great guy.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Other problems aside - if his mother died - isn't it his money anyway? So technically I doubt it would qualify as fraud...

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

Scumbag! “Thanks mum!”

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Other problems aside - if his mother died - isn't it his money anyway? So technically I doubt it would qualify as fraud...

Inheritance tax needs paying.

Pension may have been paid after death, that's fraud.

There may be other siblings.

She might have left her estate to someone else.

Debts to pay...

7 ( +7 / -0 )

The sheer number of people who don't report the death of a family member in order to continue receiving pension payments, or continue using bank account funds, would suggest there is a particular problem within society.

I have never seen any stats on this. Can you share the link where you got the information about these numbers?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

He didn’t know what to do. How often does that lame excuse get wheeled out? He knew what to do when trying to steal the pension money though.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

When you live in a society were they measure you by the the size your car, your wallet, Your Wife , or your !! and showing off is the norm, then greed and having that cash becomes a priority.

People do not report deaths because of a broken bond between humans.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Poverty on both sides-the mum and the son...,

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Police said Fujihara claims to have discovered his mother dead when he visited her. He was quoted by police as saying he was shocked and didn’t know what to do and left.

I was going to be sympathetic with him because the sight of a dead parent can have a paralyzing affect on people. But......

 Fujihira asked a female neighbor to impersonate his mother so he could withdraw cash from Masako’s bank account.

....lock him up. I mean, we haven't heard his side of the story. Perhaps he was trying to use her money to give her a proper burial, but.....he should've reported her death immediately given the fact that she died from a heatstroke. And he involved an innocent person in his selfish ploy to get/steal money from his dead mother. The funny part is after the dust had settled, her money would've become his through relationship (next of kin) if he had just waited a bit. Greed can be a hell of a thing.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Fraud actually is the unlawful and intentional making of a misrepresentation causing actual or potential

prejudice to another. The problem is that another is either strict interpretation or soft interpretation. If strict then there's no prejudice to another since the mother is deceased, but if it is soft interpretation then there only prejudice will be the Deceased Estate that is prejudiced and its creditors, and this soft interpretation will actually be fraud.

However if there was a charge for abondenment of a corpse, he should also be charged with that.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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