TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have re-arrested a male Nepalese national currently re-applying for refugee status is believed to be behind a series of sexual assaults of women in the past year, reports TV Asahi (April 22).
In July of last year, Tapa Rabi, 29, is alleged to have forcibly taken a woman in her 20s to an apartment building in Shinagawa Ward, embraced her and fondled her body.
Rabi, who has been charged with committing waisetsu, or indecent acts, admits to the allegations.
The suspect is currently under prosecution for two similar incidents, including the sexual assault of a middle school student in a parking lot near JR Shibuya Station in February of last year.
In January of 2008, Rabi arrived in Japan as a vocational school student. In 2012, he received refugee status from the Tokyo immigration office. After the designation lapsed in 2013, he has since re-applied multiple times.
Rabi explained to police that he continues to file the paperwork for refugee status since he is able to stay in Japan during the evaluation period. He learned about the loophole from acquaintances, who amongst one another informally refer to the system as a “refugee visa,” according to police.