AICHI (TR) – Police arrested a male noodle shop owner on Monday for allegedly dumping noodles in a park in Nagoya for over three years, claiming he thought the food would be “food for birds.”
The 51-year-old owner of an udon noodle shop in Meito Ward was arrested on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business for dumping udon noodles and other food items in Yada Park on October 23, interfering with the business of a civil engineering firm and forcing them to clean up the mess, the Asahi Shimbun reports (October 31).
The suspect has admitted to the charges, quoted by police as saying he thought if he “dumped it near my [shop] then it would attract crows and be a nuisance.”
“I’ve been dumping a week’s worth of leftovers here since three years ago, I figured it would be good for the birds as their food,” the suspect was quoted by police as saying.
Police were alerted by a nearby elementary school, and the engineering firm consulted police on October 24.
Officers staked out the park from early morning on Monday when the suspect showed up with three plastic bags full of leftover food, leading to his immediate arrest, police said.
The suspect drove his car from his noodle shop about 4 kilometers away to the park, police said, adding that nearby security camera footage showed he often came to the park on Sundays and Mondays.
