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Kinshicho pubs suspected of swindling dozens of drunk customers

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested seven persons connected to three pubs in Sumida Ward who are suspected of swindling dozens of drunk customers, reports TBS News (Feb. 17).

According to police, the suspects include Eriko Hisakawa, the 35-year-old manager of the pubs, located near JR Kinshicho Station, Shin Yoshizawa, 45, and five others.

Between around 6:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on November 6, the suspects allegedly collected a total of 410,000 yen in cash withdrawn by a 43-year-old male company employee from convenience store ATM machines.

Yoshizawa and four other suspects deny allegations of quasi-fraud. “I do not recall [the matter],” Yoshizawa was quoted. Meanwhile, the other two suspects admit to the charges, police said.

Eriko Hisakawa (Twitter)

Prior to the incident, one of the suspects working as a street tout lured the victim, who was heavily intoxicated, into a pub.

The suspects then worked together to bring the victim around to the pubs for about 10 separate visits that did not exceed 10 minutes each. In coming to the total of 410,000 yen, the suspects charged the victim around 50,000 yen per visit.

Police have received about 70 complaints about three pubs over the past two years in which the total damage reached around 12 million yen.