OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of a middle school teacher currently on paternity leave for allegedly abandoning a stolen bicycle on train tracks in Sakai City, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Apr. 7).
According to the Kita-Sakai Police Station, Taiki Nakamura, 33, allegedly stole a university student’s bicycle from a street in Sakai City late on March 21.
He then abandoned it at around 12:10 a.m. the following day at a railway crossing between Nakamozu and Shirasagi stations on the Nankai Koya Line.
The lead car of a six-car local train bound for Mikkaichicho from Namba collided with the bicycle, dragging it approximately 26 meters. No one, including passengers and crew, was injured.
“I stole it to use as transportation to get home. I didn’t want to leave something I’d stolen near my home, so I casually abandoned the bicycle on the tracks,” Nakamura said in commenting on allegations of endangering train traffic and theft.
Nakamura’s involvement arose from investigations using security camera footage near the scene.
The suspect had been on paternity leave since January.
AloJapan.com