KANAGAWA (TR) – The Yokosuka Municipal Government has dismissed a 45-year-old female employee who went on an overseas vacation during a fraudulent sick leave, while the doctor who enabled the scheme has been reported to police, reports TV Asahi (Oct. 1).
The woman had taken a 10-day sick leave, but her ruse quickly unraveled when her boss spotted her hauling a large suitcase at a train station in Yokosuka City.
Suspicious of the encounter, the boss sent her a text message asking, “How are you feeling?”
The employee brazenly replied, “I am in sick and sleeping.”
Following the conclusion of her leave, the boss brought the woman in for an interview. Initially, she doubled down on her lie, telling her superior, “I was recovering at home.”
However, under persistent questioning during repeated interviews, she finally cracked and confessed, “My condition improved, so I went on an overseas trip.”
An investigation revealed that the medical certificate she submitted to secure the time off contained entirely false information.
The city slapped the woman with a disciplinary dismissal, effective the 30th of last month. “I regret causing trouble for so many people,” she reportedly said.
Meanwhile, the city has submitted a criminal complaint to the police against the doctor who produced the fraudulent medical certificate, seeking further investigation into the fabrication.
