The Metropolitan Police Department headquarters is seen in this file photo. (Mainichi/Kenji Yoneda)

       TOKYO -- Two Vietnamese nationals living in east Japan have been accused of fraudulently purchasing student commuter train passes before reselling them through Facebook at around double the price to some 120 Vietnamese people in Japan.

       The Metropolitan Police Department's cybercrime control division and other authorities announced Dec. 6 it has arrested Vu Duc Cong, 25, a part-time worker residing in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, and Tran Thi Thom, 22, a Japanese language school student living with Vu, on suspicion of theft. It is believed that since March 2019, the pair have resold student commuter passes, which cost less than standard commuter passes for workers, to about 120 Vietnamese people in Japan, taking in around 1.2 million yen, or roughly $10,600.

       On April 28 this year, at around 1:15 to 1:30 p.m., the duo is suspected to have illicitly purchased eight student commuter passes in the names of eight Vietnamese men and women in their 20s and 30s at the JR Sobu Line's Nishi-Funabashi Station in the city of Funabashi, after inserting the PIN number set at ticket machines used for issuing commuter train passes. The eight passes cost 72,720 yen, or around $640.

       The pair have admitted to the allegations against them, and Vu has reportedly stated that he "had less work due to the coronavirus."

       At East Japan Railway Co. (JR East), buying a student commuter pass requires confirmation of ID or other material proving student status, so they are normally handled at service windows with station attendants. However, the passes can be bought at ticket machines during the spring peak season, and a staff member must enter the PIN in the machine to have them issued. But the suspects got the passes using the ticket machine without being accompanied by a station attendant, as they already knew the PIN. According to the cybercrime control division, sneak footage showing an attendant entering the PIN when a student was purchasing a pass was found in Tran's smartphone. Police are investigating the case while presuming that the two learned the PIN by watching this.

       JR East has commented, "We have provided information on this case to each station within our jurisdiction, and have taken measures by promoting staff awareness."

       According to the cybercrime control division, the suspects had created a public Facebook group to attract Vietnamese people wishing to buy student commuter passes. After asking their names, birthdays and other information, the suspects allegedly purchased passes covering the commuting section requested by each person, and had them wire them around twice the passes' face value as handling charges and other fees.

       The division had been investigating the case since April after finding the notice on Facebook.

       (Japanese original by Makoto Kakizaki, Tokyo City News Department)

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