CHIBA (TR) – Chiba Prefectural Police have dismissed a 29-year-old officer over a drunken motorcycle crash and slapped a separate officer with a six-month suspension for wagering a staggering 100 million yen on illegal online casinos, reports TV Asahi (May 29).
The 29-year-old senior patrol officer, assigned to the Matsudo Police Station, was given a disciplinary dismissal after being indicted without arrest on Friday.
In April, the officer was caught red-handed and arrested after driving his motorcycle intoxicated and plowing into an unoccupied car parked on a residential property in Abiko City. According to police, the officer had downed approximately 10 glasses of draft beer before getting behind the handlebars.
In a separate scandal, a 39-year-old senior patrol officer at the Kashiwa Police Station was referred to prosecutors on Friday on suspicion of habitual gambling.
Investigators say that since around November of last year, the officer routinely engaged in illegal online casino gambling, playing games such as baccarat and poker. The officer took out over 10 million yen in debt from consumer loan companies to fuel his habit, with his total wagers ballooning to an estimated 100 million yen.
Following his six-month suspension, the 39-year-old voluntarily resigned from the force.
Chief Inspector Jun Naka issued a public apology over the dual scandals. “Both actions severely undermine the trust in police officers and are absolutely unforgivable,” Naka said. “We deeply apologize to the residents of the prefecture.”
