On September 10th, a trial was held at the Osaka District Court for Kim Deho, 33, an unemployed man of no fixed address and a South Korean National, who was charged with three incidents including robbery and theft for taking a bag from a pregnant woman and injuring her in a week after arriving in Japan from South Korea. The presiding judge sentenced him to four years and six months in prison on the grounds that it’s apparent that he came to Japan for criminal purposes and deserves strong condemnation.
The judge referred to the defendant’s arrival in Japan for criminal purposes, given that he shoplifted a wallet on the day he arrived at Kansai International Airport.
According to the court decision, he arrived in Japan on March 21, 2023, and on the same day shoplifted a brand-name purse (selling price: approximately 60,000 yen) from a department store in Osaka. On March 25, he held a drill against a woman in her 30’s on a street in Toyonaka City, Osaka, and took her bag, injuring her when she fell while he tried to escape, and on March 27, he snatched the handbag of a woman in her 60’s on a street in Osaka City.
During questioning, the defendant stated that he committed the crime because his mother had cancer and he needed money for treatment and medication, while the prosecution asked whether he had spent money in the entertainment district after the incident.
