TOKYO (TR) – A courtroom right here this week handed a former inspector who makes a speciality of fireplace investigations a suspended jail time period for stealing money following a number of fires within the capital, experiences Nippon News Network (Oct. 16).
On Thursday, the Tokyo District Court handed Ryoji Masano, 51, a three-year jail time period, suspended for 5 years, for stealing a complete of roughly 6.4 million yen in money from properties on the scenes of three fires he visited throughout his investigations in Tokyo between 2022 and this yr.
During his trial, Masano admitted to the fees. Regarding his motive, he mentioned, “I was worried about money, and when the money appeared in front of me, I was tempted and thought, ‘If only I had this money.’”
Regarding his frame of mind on the time, he mentioned, “There’s a saying that goes, ‘The net of heaven is wide and loose, but nothing escapes it.’ I knew that if I kept doing this, I’d be found out someday.”
According to police, it has been confirmed that Masano carried out the identical crime eight instances between October 2022 and February of this yr, stealing a complete of roughly 9 million yen. However, since the entire individuals who died within the blazes lived alone, it was tough to confirm the details. As a consequence, he was not prosecuted in 5 different circumstances.
The prosecution demanded a three-year jail sentence: “Masano’s criminal responsibility for committing crimes that undermine the public’s trust in police officers is grave.” Meanwhile, the protection had sought a suspended sentence, arguing that “compensation for the damage has been made and settlements have been reached with all parties.”
Masano was indicted over the theft in June. Police dismissed him in July. In addition, police verbally warned three of his superiors.
The crimes got here to gentle in January when a firefighter witnessed Masano taking 1,000 yen in money from a pouch on the scene of a hearth and placing it in his pocket.