Police in Kikuchi City, Kumamoto Prefecture, have arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of stealing six steel plates, each weighing about 800 kg (worth a total of about 1 million yen).
Police said the suspect, Tatsuya Nakagawa, of unknown occupation, has denied the allegation, Sankei Shimbun reported. Police quoted him as saying, "I took the steel plates, but I did it because someone asked me to, so it's not theft.”
According to police, Nakagawa used a rented crane truck to steal the plates from a construction materials storage facility in Kumamoto City, at around 1:40 p.m. on November 3, which was a national holiday. The steel plates had been placed on the site of the materials storage facility to allow the passage of large trucks and other vehicles.
The facility owner alerted police the next day. Police arrested Nakagawa after he sold the steel plates to a metal buyer.
There have been dozens of similar cases of steel plate thefts in the area, and prefectural police are investigating whether there is a connection.
© Japan Today
4 Comments
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sakurasuki
Rented crane truck and sold the 800kg steel, someone just asked to do that?
shogun36
man.........I'd like to see that hold up in any court.
Perp: "yo judge, dis foo came up to me in the alley las night. axed me to take 100 diamond rings from the store. So it ain't theft!"
Judge: "oh for real? someone asked you? well then, case closed! alright, everyone hit the bars!"
GuruMick
Hercules ? Here in Japan ?
Zaphod
From the headline, I thought he is superman.