Police said Friday that the home of a high-ranking official of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was burgled in February. The thief got away with approximately 4 million yen in cash and precious jewels.
According to police, the wife of the 57-year-old police official returned home in Machida to find the place completely trashed. TV Asahi quoted police as saying that 800,000 yen in cash had been stolen, along with a variety of precious jewels, amounting to a total of around 4 million yen.
The woman said that the back door of their home had been left unlocked.
At the time of the incident, the man whose house was broken into was a police chief. Now he is working as a high-ranking executive officer of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
© Japan Today
21 Comments
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hereforever
Police official with over 4,000,000 yen (40,000 USD) in cash and jewels ..... IN HIS HOME? Boy, I sure picked the wrong career path.
koiwaicoffee
Looks like he took the right career path..
Novenachama
It doesn't matter where you hide you money in your home, if a thief has enough time, he probably would be able to find where you hide your valuables and tear your home apart until he found something. Therefore I think the best strategy is to actually leave some money in obvious places for the thief to quickly find and this applies if you keep all your money in the bank because this can not only save your other stash of money, but actually keep the thief from destroying your place as he looks where you have hidden your money. If they believe they may have found that cash that you have in the house, they are much less likely to keep looking because they want to get out as soon as possible. In the end if you hide all your money well, you may win a moral victory in not letting the thief find the money, but you'll likely have much damage done to your place that will end up costing you more in the long run.
FightingViking
How ironical ! A high-ranking police officer has his home burglarized !
@Novenachama
I have a better idea ! First of all make sure all the doors are locked but, just in case, also have a "Security company" install there alarm services.
DeDe Miura
Don't people keep valuables in safe deposit boxes? And so much cash at home...wow.
Lowly
I am just wondering if the thief knew it was a cop's house, and he did it on purpose out of a grudge, or perhaps like extreme sports, did it for the rush of added danger.
If he didn't know, then he must be simultaneously breathing a sigh of relief and giddy w/ excitement at his success. If he brags to friends, he will get caught eventually.
((
DeDe and others- it is common knowledge that jpns keep lots of cash in their houses, often in obvious places. There is this distrust of banks and a desire to keep it close, I guess. I sort of understood 20 yrs ago, but now w/ ATMs everywhere you can get your cash whenever you need it, and credit cards are finally usable most stores, so he is kind of a throwback…))
holyholly
I thought 4 mil. yen in one's house was outrageous until I started living here. I have 2 mil. yen in cash and about 500,000 yen worth of jewelry in my house at any given time. The large yen savings became as a result of the Tohoku earthquake. I feel more secure knowing in case of an emergency that I can grab a wad of cash and step out the door.
Lowly
re my comment ↑
I meant, now that it's news and he realized the house he did was a cops, he is giddy...
JoeBigs
They'll catch the thieves in days because this was one of their owns houses. If it was anyone else's place you can forget it!
Tigerta9
Insurance money?
brotokyo
Inside job?
moneyyen
I suspect the officer to be some type of thief himself. What type of Police Officer can have 4 million yen worth of jewelry and cash in his house?
MyJT2014
Is it a crime to keep cash at home? It is his money he do what he likes. The poor dude was robbed and now being accused as crook? Are there any evidences to prove the poor cop is a crook? This is perfect for a defamation case.
Mirai Hayashi
Duh...come on in and steal our stuff please!
It says a lot about how stupid the thieves think the jcops are.
Monkey's Uncle
Either its Robin Hood or an inside job.
I am not inclined to believe that upper level cops get there for being honest, and the amounts claimed stolen looks to me like a signpost pointing that direction.
hereforever
Tiger, thinking the same. He's a high ranking police officer with 4,000,000 in his home. He can write anything on the claim. Who will question him?
goodchoice
A decent safe could have been had for a bit more than 1000 USD. Better to have 39,000 USD in a safe than 40,000 USD in the pocket of a thief.
It beggars belief that the couple had the desire and imagination to buy so many gemstones but not a safe to keep them in.
lucabrasi
@goodchoice
Indeed. Almost enough to make you think of dodgy insurance scams.
But he's a police officer so that would be ridiculous ; )
Serrano
Why the hell people can't leave their grubby hands off other people's belongings? Sheesh.
nandakandamanda
When they retire, senior officers are usually given large handouts and an Amakudari job in a related organization. As a retiree, he was bound to have money somewhere.
The thieves (thief?) may only have got a small percentage. The rest of it is probably in the bank.
Balefire
The victim doesn't appear to be a retiree. He's 57 and was a police chief (probably local) at the time, now working at HQ in Tokyo, according to the article.