Chiba Prefectural Police headquarters (Mainichi/Mayumi Nobuta)

       CHIBA -- A police officer in the east Japan prefecture of Chiba was arrested on Dec. 10 on suspicion of stealing cash during an inspection of a home where a fire broke out, law enforcers said.

       Takashi Misono, 39, a sergeant in the Chiba Prefectural Police's criminal identification division, was arrested by the prefectural police's Yachiyo Police Station. He has reportedly admitted to the accusations.

       Misono is suspected of stealing the money between approximately 9:35 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2020. In his capacity then as a forensics officer for Kamagaya Police Station's criminal affairs division, he was reportedly inspecting the scene of a house fire in the Chiba prefectural city of Kamagaya when he found among the burned remains 358,000 yen (about $3,200) in cash and stole it.

       According to Yachiyo Police Station, Misono came under investigation in a camera voyeurism case and when officers searched his home this December, they found in a bedroom closet a plastic bag which had cash inside, some of which was burned. He reportedly admitted it was stolen.

       The prefectural police's chief inspector general said in a statement: "We will handle the matter strictly and appropriately in accordance with the investigation's results."

       (Japanese original by Tomohiro Shibata, Chiba Bureau)

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