OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of a 43-year-old man for allegedly robbing patients at hospitals in Osaka to pay off debts, including to businesses offering prostitution, reports the Sankei Shimbun (May 24).
According to documents filed with prosecutors, Tetsuya Kawabe, a company employee living in Sakai City’s Nishi Ward, allegedly committed 29 thefts at various hospitals in which the damage totaled 1.27 million yen between January of 2015 and March of this year.
The suspect admits to charges of theft, telling police that he did it to “play at fuzoku (commercial sex) parlors” and cover living expenses. “Everyday, I visit fuzoku parlors and I accrued a debt of 1.5 million yen to consumer financing companies,” the suspect is quoted.
In one case, the suspect stole a change purse containing 890 yen from an 83-year-old man while he was out of his room at a general hospital in Izumi City on March 27.
