OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police are hunting for a 30-year-old man who has been accused of a number of crimes, including robbery and rape, after he fled a police station following a meeting with a lawyer in Tondabayashi City on Sunday, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Aug. 13).
At around 9:45 p.m., a staff member at the Tondabayashi Police Station entered the second-floor meeting room where Junya Hida had been speaking with the lawyer and found the defendant gone.
According to police, Hida started speaking with the lawyer at around 7:30 p.m. It is believed that the defendant smashed an acrylic plate that separates him from the lawyer in the room at some point after the discussion ended at around 8:00 p.m. and fled.
At the time the lawyer left, there were about 20 officers on duty. However, none of them saw Hida escape.
Arrested four times
Since May 25, Hida has been accused of four crimes. In July, police arrested him for theft and the rape of a woman, aged in her 20s, in her residence in Osaka Prefecture. He was sent to prosecutors the following month.
On August 8, Osaka police accused him of robbery resulting in injury. He is also suspected over an incident in which an investigative vehicle was set ablaze at the Habikino Police Station on May 2.
Hida, with a medium build, stands about 163 centimeters tall. He has dark hair. At the time of his escape, he was wearing a black (top) and gray (bottom) jogging suit.
About 200 officers are now seeking his whereabouts on suspicion of aggravated desertion.
