OSAKA (TR) – A male jewellery store clerk in the Shinsaibashi area of Osaka City died after being stabbed during a daytime robbery on Wednesday afternoon. Police later apprehended a 27-year-old male Chinese national on suspicion of robbery and murder. According to police, the perpetrator pretended to be a customer at jewellery store Tokioka as he entered the store.
He asked the clerk, 30-year-old Tatsuya Hironaka, to show him a Patek Philippe watch valued at around 62.8 million yen, reports Nippon News Network (Aug. 8).
The discussion was conducted in Chinese. Negotiations continued in a private room for about five to 10 minutes. Thereafter, the perpatrator pulled out a knife, grabbed the watch and bolted the store.
The perpetrator stood up to 175 centimeters tall. He had a shaved head and wore a mask and sunglasses, police said. As he fled, he stabbed the Hironaka in the abdomen.
The victim was rushed to a hospital in an unconscious state but was later confirmed dead, police said. At just after 4 p.m.
, Osaka Prefectural Police arrested Ko Gyoha at Kansai International Airport on suspicion of attempted robbery and attempted murder. The suspect admitted to the charges, saying, “I stole the watch from the store clerk and stabbed him with a knife.” The charges were later changed to robbery and murder, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Aug.
7). Police believe Ko was attempting to flee the country via the airport. During the alleged crime, the suspect is believed to have been wear.