HOKKAIDO (TR) – Hokkaido Prefectural Police have sent a lawyer to prosecutors over the attack of a taxi driver inside his cab in Sapporo earlier this month, reports TV Asahi (Nov. 8).
At around 11:00 p.m. on November 6, the lawyer, aged in his 30s, began kicking the back of the driver’s seat after he entered the cab in the Susukino nightlife quarter of Chuo Ward. One kick shattered the plastic panel separating the driver from the back seat.
As revealed in dashboard camera footage, the driver halted the cab after the man began kicking the door. After it opened, he exited without paying the fare of 990 yen. As he fled, he threw his smartphone at the taxi.
According to the company that owns the taxi, the damage to the cab amounted to 140,000 yen.
The lawyer, who was not named, was sent to prosecutors on Tuesday on suspicion of causing property damage.
“With this being a serious development, we will take strict measures in accordance with the law to recover trust,” a representative of the Sapporo firm employing the defendant was quoted.