Press "Enter" to skip to content

Chiba: Suspected groper flees by climbing tower, delays trains for 3 hours

Shinya Ieda
Shinya Ieda climbed a tower in fleeing a groping allegation at JR Makuharihongo Station (Twitter)
CHIBA (TR) – Chiba Prefectural Police on Saturday arrested a 51-year-old man who caused train services in Chiba City to be delayed for nearly 3 hours after he climbed a utility tower at a railway station in attempting to evade a groping allegation, reports NHK (June 3).

According to the Chiba branch of East Japan Railway, a woman accused Shinya Ieda, a company employee living in Funabashi City, of groping her inside carriage of the Sobu Line upon its arrival at JR Makuharihongo Station at around 9:10 p.m.

As station staff waited for police to arrive, Ieda fled from an office and leaped onto the track bed at around 9:50 p.m. He then climbed an electric supply tower.

At 11:40 p.m., rescue personnel coaxed Ieda to surrender. He was subsequently arrested by officers from the Chiba-Nishi Police Station on suspicion of trespassing.

According to JR East, the incident caused 31 trains to be delayed for nearly three hours, inconveniencing about 30,000 passengers.