TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday announced the bust of a club in Shinjuku Ward for overcharging customers, reports the Sankei Shimbun (June 29).
On the evening of March 7, Hisayoshi Kakae, a 28-year-old employee of hostess club Le Dernier Amour, and three other male and female staff members demanded 1,108,200 yen from two male customers after three hours of service. The victims had previously agreed to a rate of 5,000 yen per hour.
All of the suspects, who have been charged with violating a metropolitan ordinance that prohibits bottakuri, or overcharging, have denied the allegations.
The victims initially refused to pay the bill. But after being threatened by the suspects and forced to sign a promissory note they paid a total of 355,000 yen.
Between January and May, police received 48 complaints of bottakuri taking place at Le Dernier Amour.
Since July of last year, police have busted 22 clubs in Kabukicho for the same crime, according to TBS News (June 29).