TOKYO (TR) – The manager of a Pizza Hut outlet in Koto Ward and three accomplices were arrested for allegedly beating the store’s deputy manager and snatching more than one million yen from a safe earlier this year, the Sankei Shimbun reported on Wednesday (August 31).
Chihiro Masunari, 27, the manager of the outlet in the Fukugawa area, and three male accomplices were arrested for allegedly colluding to beat the deputy manager with an iron pipe and steal some 1.4 million yen from the a safe at around 10 p.m. on May 1, Tokyo Metropolitan Police said.
The suspects, who have been charged with robbery resulting in bodily injury, admit to the allegations.
The victim suffered serious injuries including a fractured left arm which required more than two months to heal, police said.
Masunari, who was alone with the deputy manager at the time of the crime, initially told police he used the pipe to defend himself after the deputy manager held him at knifepoint and demanded he open the safe.
However, security camera footage showed Kaoru Takahashi, 29, one of the accomplices, entering the shop and striking the deputy manager with an iron pipe after he resisted demands to hand over money. Masunari then bagged the cash from the safe that the victim was forced to open.
Security camera footage also showed Takahashi talking over the phone with his accomplices before and after the crime, which prompted police to investigate Masunari.
Two other store workers, who were also arrested, were sent out on fake orders at the time, which was during peak holiday season when there was reportedly more cash in the safe than usual.
