crime

Man arrested for stealing sleeping passenger’s wallet on train

14 Comments

A 41-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of stealing a wallet from a sleeping male passenger on a train on the JR Yamanote Line in Tokyo.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 7:15 a.m. on Sunday as the train ran between Yoyogi and Shinjuku stations, Fuji TV reported. Police said the suspect, Hiroyuki Ozawa, used a small pair of scissors to cut the coat pocket of a 25-year-old man who was asleep, and extract the victim’s wallet containing 4,000 yen and an ATM card.

However, Ozawa, whose occupation and address are unknown, was spotted by a security guard on the train. After getting off the train at Shinjuku Station, he tried to flee but was chased and caught by the security guard.

Police said Ozawa has refused to talk until he sees a lawyer.

Since last September, 58 cases of pickpocketing have been reported by passengers sleeping aboard trains in Tokyo. Police are questioning Ozawa about his involvement in those cases.

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14 Comments
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Stupid, you ruined your life for 4,000 yen

10 ( +11 / -1 )

when I first came to Japan from the US in 1992 I was fascinated by people sleeping in public. In the US its you snooze you lose. If he fell asleep on a NY subway I am sure his wallet is not the only thing he would have lost.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Is there a right to remain silent? I’ve heard Miranda Rights do not exist in Japan.

The security guard was quite alert to see that from the platform between Yoyogi and Shinjuku at that time of the day, 7:15.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Police are questioning Ozawa about his involvement in those cases.

Yeah. Good opportunity to pin them all on this loser and keep those clear-up statistics nice and tidy.

"We have means of making you talk!"

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Is there a right to remain silent? I’ve heard Miranda Rights do not exist in Japan.

Well of course Miranda rights don't exist here - that's an American law. But you do have the right to remain silent in Japan.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Took my first car nap in my life yesterday in a parking lot with the windows down. Was a little hesitant at first but so many do it here I shrugged it off.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Stupid, you ruined your life for 4,000 yen

Maybe he didn't have much of a life to actually ruin.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

"Police are questioning Ozawa about his involvement in those cases" ve have ways of making you talk!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Don't sleep on trains. Problem solved!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

sensei258Today 07:22 am JSTStupid, you ruined your life for 4,000 yen

me thinks his life was already pretty "ruined" before he committed this crime.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

scissors... seriously? well done on the guard! too bad the guy didnt jump under the next train though.. now we have to give free food and housing to someone not deserving it.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

when I first came to Japan from the US in 1992 I was fascinated by people sleeping in public. In the US its you snooze you lose. If he fell asleep on a NY subway I am sure his wallet is not the only thing he would have lost.

Have you ever ridden the subways in NYC? I know the subways in New York are not the safest in the world but as a kid growing up in the seventes I fell asleep many times and nothing happened to me. Not once. The subways were exponentially more dangerous back then than they are now. I am extremely proud that the crime rate has decreased dramatically but there is more work to do, obviously. Suggesting that as soon as you fall asleep you are dead is giving misinformation.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Everybody seems to like to paint U.S. Subways as places of danger and theft... sure its not Japan but its not as bad as some people make them out to be. I took the A line back and fourth from Downtown into Brooklyn hundreds of times during the late 80's and never had a problem. In Japan... didn't see theft but I did catch a couple of guys squeezing up to young girls even though there was a lot of space to sit in other places. I made sure those guys moved on.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

However, Ozawa, whose occupation and address are unknown,

Occupation: Pickpocket

Address: Shinjuku Station

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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