FUKUOKA (TR) – A 38-year-old inspector charged with flushing seized marijuana down a toilet was referred to prosecutors to stand trial, authorities said on Thursday.
On January 13, the inspector, assigned to the Yukuhashi Police Station, allegedly flushed the contents of a seized bag of marijuana down a toilet at the Tagawa Police Station before tossing the bag in the trash, the Asahi Shimbun reports (Nov. 17).
Fukuoka Prefectural Police have suspended him for one month as punishment.
The inspector was quoted by police as saying he “didn’t think the suspect would be identified even if the case was investigated” and that he “found the [evidence] procedures troublesome.”
Authorities were alerted to the inspector’s act by an anonymous tip in August, and charged him with allegedly destroying evidence.
The inspector’s 55-year-old male superior was also reprimanded for telling him that marijuana can be thrown away if the quantity was negligible, NHK reported.
Chief inspector Yasunori Kondo of the Fukuoka Prefectural Police headquarters said he was “deeply apologetic over this act that damages the trust of the people of the prefecture. I will endeavor to prevent this from happening again by tightening instruction and education.”
