TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a pair of bar hosts who are suspected in several purse-snatching incidents in Shinjuku Ward, reports TBS News (May 7).
In March, Koji Sawachi, 24, and Takeshi Hasegawa, 33, allegedly worked together to come up from behind a woman, then 22, on a road in the Okubo areas and natch a backpack containing about 60,000 yen in cash.
As the suspects snatched the bag, the woman was momentarily dragged while she held on, causing a light injury to her head when she struck the ground. The injury required one week to heal, police said.
Sawachi denies the allegations. Meanwhile, Hasegawa admits to the charges, police said.
The suspects work as hosts at clubs in the nearby Kabukicho red-light district. They became persons of interest in the case after an examination of security camera footage.
Police believe that the suspects were behind four other incidents that took place in the same area in March and April.
