Police officer arrested for shoplifting character goods ‘to give as gifts to children’

OSAKA — Osaka Prefectural Police have a arrested a 41-year-old police sergeant on suspicion of shoplifting over 60 items from a character goods store. 

According to police, Hiroyuki Matsuda, a sergeant with the forensic science section of the Katano Police Criminal Investigation Division in Neyagawa City, Osaka Prefecture, has admitted to the allegation, Sankei Shimbun reported. He was quoted as saying, "I stole them to give as gifts to my children."

Police said Matsuda is accused of shoplifting 62 items (worth approximately 40,000 yen), including stickers and pin badges, from a character goods store in the Hankyu Sanban-gai shopping complex in Kita Ward, Osaka City, at around 11:50 a.m. on Friday. Matsuda was off duty that day.

A security guard saw what Matsuda was doing and called out to him when he left the store without paying.

Matsuda briefly fled while heading to the store manager's office with the security guard, but was soon apprehended by other security guards.

Matsuda is the seventh Osaka prefectural police officer to be arrested this year.

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