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.
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Aw man, that’s really sad. Sure he stole something but that’s no reason to kill him.
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Wow..um. I guess the Japanese store owners are getting fed up with shoplifters. I heard somewhere that people who shoplift in Japan, easily get away with it,they said it was because some Japanese are not assertive and domineering. Thats what they said at least.
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I dont know about you but most robbers in usa wouldnt mind in killing the shop owner for a few bucks, they have what they deserv
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the owner didn’t intend to kill so at worst, he’ll get manslaughter and not murder.
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Lesson Learned:
Do NOT Shoplift in Japan.
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A clear sign that Japanese shop owners had it with shoplifting.
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Wow, thats a terrible occurrence. It is hard to believe that the shop keeper would go so far as to kill the man. You’d think a couple slaps on the back of the man’s head would have been enough..
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The supermarket manager had to call the police as soon as he found that man shoplifting.
I’ve heard another two sad cases :
One young boy who shoplifted books was chased by the bookshop manager, and run over by a train. Another man killed himself with his knife after he was found shoplifting by the shop keeper.
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I’m all for harsh punishment for crime, but this just went too far… if the criminal was unarmed and posed no physical threat.
In the shop owner’s defense, though, I doubt he meant to kill the man. It was also apparently a repeat offense. Its just a shame it cost the perpetrator his life, and may cost the shop owner his livelihood.
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It sounds like, from the article, that the man caught the shoplifter, brought him to the back room and beat him then dumped in him in the side of a road? Just leads me to believe that the manager doesn’t have faith in it’s own justice system so took justice into his own hands. It is indeed a sad story…
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