Society

Osaka fugitive knew guards' shift schedule

Aug 30 (NHK) - A suspect who has been on the run for more than 2 weeks in Osaka Prefecture is found to have kept a memo of which police officers were on guard duty and when.

30-year-old Junya Hida escaped from Tondabayashi police station on August 12th. He had been charged for theft and assault, and was served a fresh arrest warrant for attempted sexual assault.

Hida's lawyer visited him several times at the police station. During each visit, Hida would tell his lawyer that he would inform the police officer on duty once their meeting was over.

The lawyer assumed Hida would do the same on the day of the escape, and left the police station without notifying the officer that he was leaving.

Police did not realize until an hour and 45 minutes later that Hida had disappeared.

Investigators who searched the room where Hida had been detained found a calendar-like memo near the toilet with the names of officers.

The suspect had his eye on a certain officer who was on guard duty once every 3 days, and on the day he fled. Police believe Hida picked that day to escape.

The police have not publicized the discovery of this memo, and have declined to comment about Hida targeting the officer.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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