Middle-aged man arrested for stealing whistles from little girls

May 21, 2018 | News On Japan

May 21, 2018 (soranews24.com) - Search of suspect's home revealed 12 whistles, suggesting repeat offenses.

On 17 May, in a park in Kasuga City, Fukuoka Prefecture, an 11-year-old girl was playing jump-rope in a park after school. For her security, she had been given an ID tag and a "crime prevention" whistle to blow in case of trouble.

On this particular day, however, it was initially hard to tell if trouble had arrived in the form of a 31-year-old man who approached the girl. "Blow your whistle," requested the man, and when the girl refused, he grabbed it and the tag from around her neck and ran away.

The girl was unharmed but quickly reported the incident to police. Her description of the thief matched that of similar reports in the area of a strange man asking girls to blow their whistles and then running away.

Something in this latest report must have been a big tip off though, because on 18 May Fukuoka Prefectural Police announced the suspect's arrest. In addition, upon searching his home, police discovered a collection of 12 similar whistles. They are currently investigating how each of these whistles came into his possession.

The whistles were put on display for the media along with a sign officially declaring this incident as a "tokui setto" or "unusual theft." Adding to the peculiarity of it, the suspect reportedly admitted to the crime saying, "I like girls around elementary schools age. I wanted her to blow the whistle."

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