crime

Man arrested for posting false tweet claiming lion on the loose after Kumamoto quake

17 Comments

Police in Kumamoto have arrested a 20-year-old man for posting a false alert on Twitter in which he said that a lion had escaped from the zoo and was on the loose in Kumamoto city following the quake that struck the city on April 14.

The tweet, which was accompanied by a photo purporting to show the lion walking along a city street, caused a panic, Fuji TV reported. The Kumamoto Zoo and Botanical Gardens received more than 100 phone inquiries from frightened residents.

The suspect Kazuki Sato, a company employee and resident of Kanagawa Prefecture, was arrested for fraudulent obstruction of business, police said.

About 30 minutes after the quake, Sato tweeted that a lion was on the loose in his neighborhood. He was quoted by police as saying he posted the tweet for kicks and just wanted to shock people. His message was retweeted more than 20,000 times, police said.

The Kumamoto Zoo and Botanical Gardens filed a complaint with police after they were swamped with inquiries.

© Japan Today

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17 Comments
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good for you, you got your minutes of fame! all eyes on you! yahoo!! banzai!! youre famous!!! enjoy those tweets and likes from prison!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Best use a different account for that sort of trickery.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Best use a different account for that sort of trickery.

you know they can trace your IP regardless of the account you used, right? best NOT to do those silly stuffs

4 ( +4 / -0 )

What a hell-raising guy! Now he'll end up in the big cage. Get a feel for your fabricated lion!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

" was arrested for fraudulent obstruction of business"

a.k.a. "messing with the cops"

0 ( +0 / -0 )

1 look at the pic and it has a street name on the curb stone (not very japanese) 1 google search and its a scene from a movie in Joberg.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Ah, they got him for "fraudulent obstruction of business". I wondered what charge they'd use. Surely I thought, simply lying wasn't a crime here. If it were they'd have to arrest most of the Diet!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The boy who cried "Lion"

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Clearly, he was lion. (Lyin' - get it?! Hahaha! Damn, I'm getting old.)

1 ( +6 / -5 )

What a BS charge!

From the street markings, litter, vertical (not horizontal) traffic lights and shape of the car's number plate it's explicitly obvious it's not Japan.

Why should Sato be penalised for people's stupidity?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Guess the police have nothing better else to do... Lmao arrested for a joke? What BS.... Lmao hahaha. Smh

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I feel sorry for the guy. While his tweet was tasteless and inconsiderate it was hardly a crime. As Sense noted, it's clearly not Japan - the street even has an English (or Afrikaan) name printed clearly on the curb. A waste of police resources, and hardly worth ruining a man's life over.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

If y'all payed attention to detail and actually looked at the pic. Anyone who lives in Japan would/should of known the pic wasn't even no where near Japan. Wake up y'all n stop living in La La Land. I really really hope nothing serious happens in Japan i.e... Terrorist attack..... Ther will be lots of casualties cause people her don't pay attention to detail. Smh.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

People are quick to judge those who fell for this picture as dumb or "living in la la land". Not everyone are expect when it comes to technology. A lot of older generation are now using twitter as well. People generally do not pay close attention to small details like the street name, etc. Its the SHOCK factor; once they see the description, and lion, it's only natural for people to panic and worry. Expecting the general population to be a smart individual who is aware that the internet is dark and full of weirdos, is just dumb. People got scared, and afraid, and it's natural. Its humane. its the intiial reaction, and dont expect everyone to be as "intelligent" as you guys.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

He certainly put the cat among the pigeons!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Ah, they got him for "fraudulent obstruction of business".

Ah, yes, that wonderful catch-all charge the police use when they don't actually have anything meaningful to charge you with.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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