TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 36-year-old Mongolian woman for allegedly stealing a wallet from a tourist’s bag at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Taito Ward, reports Jiji Press (Apr. 10).
At around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Hishigjargal Myam, who is in Japan as a tourist, allegedly stole a wallet containing about 10,000 yen in cash from the bag of an American woman, 81, as she washed her hands at the chozuya (purification fountain) of the temple.
Upon her arrest on suspicion of theft, Myam denied the charges. She said, “Something in the bag got caught on my jacket and was about to fall out. So, I picked it up.”
According to police, the suspect approached the woman from behind, hiding her hands with her jacket over his arm. She then stole the wallet from the bag the victim was carrying on her shoulder.
Three days before, another foreign tourist in the area around the temple also had a pouch stolen three days. Police then upped patrols in the area.
Police are investigating whether the two cases are connected.
Police also said that Myam has visited Japan three times since October 2023 on short-term visitor visas.
