TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a Chinese man and woman for pickpocketing from a tourist in Taito Ward last week, reports the Sankei Shimbun (May 11).
On May 9, the suspects, 47-year-old Zhu Hongjiao and 53-year-old Deng Huarong, are suspected of stealing a wallet containing approximately 10,000 yen in cash from the backpack of female tourist from Sendai City at Senso-ji Temple.
Zhu has admitted to the charges, while Deng denies them, stating, “I didn’t steal the wallet.”
According police, the two entered Japan on short-term visas through Kansai International Airport in April.
On May 8, they were discovered by patrolling officers searching through other people’s bags on a train platform in the capital. Police continued surveillance thereafter.
The next day, the pair approached the Sendai woman from behind in the crowded Nakamise shopping street. Using their umbrellas and clothes to conceal their actions, they stole the wallet from her backpack. Investigators who were tracking them confirmed the theft and apprehended them on the spot.
