TOKYO (TR) – A police officer stationed in Minato Ward has been sent to prosecutors for allegedly leaking private information to a criminal syndicate, police said Thursday, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Feb. 1).
Over a roughly three-year period starting in 2016, the 47-year-old sergeant, who is in an anti-organized crime division at the Azabu Police Station, allegedly leaked personal information on persons, including their address, from a Tokyo Metropolitan Police database to a gangster.
According to police, the persons whose information was leaked were not under investigation. The sergeant communicated with the gangster via telephone calls and messages on the smartphone application Line.
The sergeant, who has been accused of violating a government employee law, denies the allegations. “I don’t know [anything about it],” the sergeant was quoted by police.
The matter emerged via an anonymous tip in which it was learned that the sergeant is acquainted with the gangster. Police later examined the telephone of the sergeant and saw the correspondence with the gangster.
“We will deal with the matter appropriately after confirming the facts in the case,” a representative of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police was quoted.
