Shoplifter Killed For Stealing Two Cans of Beer

A video news report that reminds us that shoplifting can be very dangerous:

The video report says that the man was killed because he stole 2 cans of beer, which were probably worth only a few dollars. Here’s what English language sources said about the killing:

Police arrested the manager of a supermarket in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, on Wednesday on suspicion of beating a shoplifter and leaving him to die outside the shop. Yuichi Iwasawa, 40, allegedly found a man shoplifting at around 8 p.m. Tuesday inside his supermarket, took him to a storage space, beat him in the stomach and face and left him on a nearby road.

A passerby found the man on the road at around 9 p.m. that day and called an ambulance but the man died at hospital several hours later, according to police. The man, who appeared to be in his 50s or 60s, has not been identified, they said.

Update: Mainichi Shinbun has just put up their own English language story:

A supermarket manager has been arrested for fatally assaulting a man who he caught stealing two cans of beer from the store, police said.

Yuichi Iwasawa, 40, who managed a supermarket in Funabashi, stands accused of inflicting bodily injury resulting in death.

He admitted to the allegations during questioning. “The man stole some cans of beer. He had previously stolen goods from my store, so I wanted to punish him,” he was quoted as telling investigators.

Local police are trying to identify the man, who appears to be aged between 50 and 60.

After spotting the man shoplifting at the supermarket in Funabashi, Iwasawa hit and kicked the man at the storage facility of the store from 8 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, investigators said.

At around 9 p.m., police received an emergency call from a woman reporting that a man was lying unconscious on a street in front of JR Funabashi Station. Police took Iwasawa into custody after he admitted to assaulting the man.