You by no means know the way a small lapse in judgment can come again to hang-out you exponentially down the highway. Stealing a stamp right here and there or promoting a cow with out permission can add as much as crimes leading to life-altering penalties.
And so it was in February 2022 {that a} bus driver for Kyoto City obtained a banknote from a passenger for 1,000 yen, and as a substitute of putting it within the fare assortment field the place it belonged, he slipped it into the pocket of his uniform. Unfortunately for him, the town’s transportation division occurred to be doing a routine dashcam examine and noticed him within the act of embezzling the fare.
As a consequence, he was dismissed and in addition had his taishokukin (retirement bonus) withheld. This is the cash that accrues all through one’s profession with a company and is paid out in a lump sum after they finish employment both by retirement, resignation, and even dismissal until the worker deems the rationale too egregious to pay. In the case of the now 58-year-old former driver, that allowance grew to about 12 million yen.
Feeling that was far too extreme a punishment for damages roughly equal to the worth of a super-sized combo at McDonald’s, the previous driver took the town to court docket. However, the Kyoto District Court dominated in 2023 that the town’s determination to pay was lawful.
The man then appealed that call to the Osaka High Court, who overturned the ruling in 2024, declaring that the person deserved the retirement allowance on the grounds that the quantity stolen was small and he had already compensated for it.
▼ Next cease: Supreme Court
Image: Pakutaso
Kyoto City then appealed that call, taking the matter to the Supreme Court. On April 17, the very best court docket within the land overturned the ruling once more. All 5 judges unanimously deemed the withholding of the allowance lawful as a result of pocketing public funds was an act of “serious misconduct” that “significantly damaged the public’s trust in the bus business.”
With the matter dropped at a detailed, the previous driver is now out his retirement bonus plus round three 12 months’s price of authorized charges which couldn’t have been low-cost. Readers of the news on-line had blended emotions concerning the case however largely felt the ultimate determination was in the precise.
“He who chases two rabbits catches neither.”
“Don’t the dashcams usually watch the passengers? I wonder if they were tipped off about him.”
“Serves him right.”
“You don’t usually see the district court getting it right and the high court screwing up.”
“He has a lot of nerve demanding bonuses after getting caught stealing.”
“I think this says something about how bus drivers are treated if they have to steal 1,000 yen.”
“Theft is theft. It doesn’t matter how much.”
“Ouch, that must sting.”
“They can’t set a precedent that someone can embezzle and still get a retirement allowance.”
“The [1,000 yen] he took shouldn’t matter because that’s only the amount they know about.”
With what we all know, it could be not possible to say whether or not this was an remoted offense or proof of extra frequent wrongdoing on the job, nevertheless it’s necessary to noticeably contemplate what’s being placed on the road.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun, Itai News
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