Police in Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture, have arrested a 53-year-old man on suspicion of stealing cash from a donation box at a temple, and said the man has admitted to similar thefts at temples in seven prefectures across the country.
Police said the man, who is unemployed and has no fixed address, was arrested in October last year on suspicion of stealing approximately 35,000 yen in cash from a donation box at a temple in Murakami City, Niigata Broadcasting Corp reported.
Subsequent investigations revealed that between September 2022 and October last year, he had stolen offerings from temples in Niigata Prefecture, as well as Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Yamanashi, Gifu and Mie prefectures.
According to the police, the man not only stole money, but also the donation boxes in some cases, bringing the total losses to approximately 2.1 million yen. Of this amount, approximately 750,000 yen was in cash and approximately 1.35 million yen was in items such as donation boxes.
Police said the man has admitted to 58 cases of theft.
© Japan Today
7 Comments
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TokyoLiving
Jail then get a job..
Mr Kipling
For those not aware, these boxes are not charity boxes. All the money put in them is for the temple owner and is tax free as is all of their income. The criminal was stealing from the temple owners not the poor. Still a crime but some not aware of Japanese culture may believe he was robbing a charity collection.
bo
Of course he confessed freely of his own will ,with no pressure or anything
Bret T
Mr Kipling
That's very interesting. Thanks for the info. As a foreigner, I had no idea that was the case.
Paul Scott
Everyone needs a hobby. It was either that or Goshuin.
grc
Another unemployed man? Amid all this labor shortage?
Nagoya Neko
I think they should clarify, unemployed to lazy. Just like you said grc, there are plenty of jobs. Also those boxes at the shrines and temples, i stopped putting money in long time ago. I heard many of the owners are addicted to gambling.