A man who tried on a luxury watch at a shop in Nakano Broadway, a commercial complex in Tokyo's Nakano Ward, ran off wearing it. The watch, an Audemars Piguet worth about 46 million yen, later arrived back at the store in a parcel sent from Aichi Prefecture, according to reports.
The theft happened on the night of October 29, according to reports. The parcel was confirmed to hold the stolen watch by its serial number, and it came with a letter apologizing, the reports said.
The return does not undo the crime, lawyer Toshihiro Imai said. A theft charge is established the moment the man ran off with the watch, and handing it back afterward cannot make that go away.
A discount, not an acquittal
Returning the watch can still count in the suspect's favor. If investigators identify the man, prosecutors will weigh how the watch came back when deciding whether to indict, Imai said. If the case goes to trial, the court can treat the return as a mitigating factor when setting a sentence.
The sum involved works against him. At 46 million yen the loss is extremely large, making a decision not to indict unlikely, Imai said.
Who sent the parcel?
Imai said it is not yet known whether the apology letter reflects genuine remorse. Surveillance camera footage recorded the fleeing man's face and clothing, and the watch's serial number was known, he noted. That leaves open the possibility the thief returned it because he could not dispose of it and felt cornered.
It is also unclear whether the thief sent the parcel himself. A third party who received the watch from him could have returned it, and in that case the return would be unlikely to help him at sentencing, Imai said.
If the thief did send it, the court will focus on why. His motive, any criminal record and any other similar offenses would also factor into the sentence, Imai said.