Man on trial in Sendai for taking bag containing ¥22 million: ‘It’s a gift from God’

MIYAGI (TR) – A 43-year-old unemployed man accused of making off with a bag containing 22 million yen admitted to the charges in court this week, claiming he took the cash shortly after a doctor told him he only had months to live, reports Kahoku Shimpo (Oct. 19).

During his first hearing at the Sendai District Court on Monday, the man from Higashimatsushima City pleaded guilty to the embezzlement of lost property.

According to questioning during the trial, the defendant had just left a hospital in Sendai City prior to finding the cash. He had received the devastating news that his cancer, which he believed to be fully cured, had returned. His doctor gave him a life expectancy of just two to three months.

“I became desperate,” the man told the court.

While wandering in a daze near JR Sendai Station around noon on March 5, he spotted a bag resting on a street in Aoba Ward. The bag contained the sales of a local game center and had been dropped just minutes earlier by a security company employee during transport.

“I walked past it once, but I was curious about the contents and turned back,” the defendant said.

He purchased a box cutter and retreated to a nearby public restroom to slice the bag open. Upon discovering the massive amount of cash inside, he told the court he thought, “It’s a gift from God.”

In the four and a half months leading up to his arrest, the man blew through approximately 18 million yen, spending the windfall on medical treatment and overseas travel.

In their closing statements, prosecutors condemned his actions as “extremely selfish” and sought a one-year prison term. Meanwhile, the defense argued for a suspended sentence, telling the court, “It is not entirely impossible to understand how the defendant felt.”

A ruling is scheduled to be handed down on November 6.

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宫城（TR）——据《河北新报》（10月19日）报道，一名43岁的失业男子被控偷走一个装有2200万日元的袋子，本周他在法庭上承认了指控，声称在医生告诉他只剩下几个月的生命后不久，他就拿走了这笔现金。

周一，在仙台地方法院的首次庭审中，来自东松岛市的这名男子承认犯有侵占遗失财物罪。

根据庭审期间的讯问，被告在发现现金前刚从仙台市的一家医院出来。他刚刚得知自己以为已经完全治愈的癌症复发了，这对他来说无疑是晴天霹雳。医生估计他只有两到三个月的寿命。

“我当时走投无路了，”该男子告诉法庭。

3月5日中午时分，他在JR仙台站附近漫无目的地闲逛时，发现青叶区一条街道上放着一个袋子。袋子里装着当地一家游戏中心的销售商品，显然是几分钟前保安公司员工在搬运过程中遗落的。

被告说：“我路过那里一次，但我很好奇里面的东西，就折返回去了。”

他买了一把美工刀，然后躲到附近的公共洗手间里把袋子割开。当他发现里面有大量现金时，他告诉法庭，他当时想：“这是上帝的恩赐。”

在被捕前的四个半月里，这名男子挥霍了大约 1800 万日元，将这笔意外之财用于医疗和出国旅行。

在结案陈词中，检方谴责他的行为“极其自私”，并要求判处一年监禁。与此同时，辩方则辩称应判缓刑，并告诉法庭：“我们并非完全无法理解被告的感受。”

预计将于11月6日宣判。

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