SAITAMA (TR) – Saitama Prefectural Police have arrested a civic employee in Hidaka City who made purchases with two credit cards he stole from a male corpse, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Aug. 30).
On August 2 of last year, Hiroyuki Nakamura, the 47-year-old chief of a learning division with the city’s board of education, used one of the cards belonging to the man, aged 79 when he died, to purchase a toothbrush and other items — valued at 2,700 yen — from a pharmacy in Hidaka.
The man died in November, 2016. At the time, Nakamura was an examiner in the social welfare division. After the man passed away, the suspect swiped the two cards and other personal items from his corpse while it was at the city office, according to police.
Nakamura, who has been accused of fraud, admits to the allegations, police said.
Police believe that Nakamura used the cards on at least 200 occasions, racking up a total of 2 million yen in charges.
“With this case causing a loss of trust by citizens, I offer a sincere apology,” said Teruo Yagasaki, the major of Hidaka City. “We will deal with the matter strictly.”
