TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 38-year-old male employee at a real estate firm for allegedly threatening to abduct the relatives of an elderly woman if she did not pay 8 million yen, reports NHK (Sept. 4).
On August 25, Satoshi Saito allegedly mailed a letter to the woman, a 73-year-old resident of Adachi Ward, in which he claimed that if 8 million yen in cash were not paid the children of her son would be abducted. He later repeated the threat via telephone.
Saito, who has been accused of attempted blackmail, admits to the allegations. “I did it pay back debts and cover living expenses,” the suspect was quoted by the Ayase Police Station.
In June, the woman visited the office of the suspect to inquire about the purchasing a residence. The suspect then subsequently obtained the woman’s personal information, including her address, telephone number and family structure, from a customer list.
“I thought she was wealthy,” the suspect also told police.
