OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have released a number of illustrations that show how a 30-year-old male fugitive could have altered his appearance since he escaped from custody earlier this month, reports Nippon News Network (Aug. 19).
On the night of August 12, Junya Hida, 30, bolted from the Tondabayashi Police Station after a meeting. The fugitive, 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, police said previously.
On Sunday, police released eight illustrated portraits that show Hida as he may look in disguise. In some of the illustrations, he is shown wearing glasses, a cap and breathing mask.
Over the course of several nights following his escape, police received reports of a number of bag-snatching incidents that took place in Habikino City and Osaka City’s Hirano and Higashisumiyoshi wards. In all of the cases, the perpetrator approached the victims while riding a minibike.
A minibike was reported stolen in Matsubara City early on August 13. In security camera footage taken near the location of one of the bag-snatching incidents in Habikino that same day, the perpetrator is shown wearing a light-colored suit and helmet while riding a black minibike.
Given that Hida has been accused of theft in the past, police suspect that he stole the minibike and committed the crimes.
Accused of rape
In making his escape from the police station, Hida destroyed the acrylic plate that served as a partition between him and the lawyer he was meeting with at some point after their discussion ended at around 8:00 p.m. He is believed to have scaled a wall before stealing a red bicycle, which he pedaled north.
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.
On August 8, Osaka police accused of 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.
