TOKYO, Apr 15 (Kyodo) - A man arrested for allegedly stealing a pure gold tea bowl priced at around 10 million yen ($65,000) has told police he "thought of drinking tea" with the bowl, an investigative source said Sunday.
Masaru Horie, 32, who was arrested Saturday, said he first thought he could use the bowl stolen from a major Tokyo department store as a vessel to drink tea from but ultimately decided that "it was better to sell it for cash."
He sold the bowl for around 1.8 million yen at a shop in Tokyo that buys goods from customers, police said, adding that they are searching for the bowl as it is no longer at the shop and is believed to have been resold.
Source: Kyodo