In July, a gyoza shop in Oita City, Oita Prefecture, experienced a series of thefts at its unmanned sales location. Surveillance cameras captured footage of what appears to be the same man committing the thefts.
The incidents occurred at the unmanned gyoza shop “Koharu Gyoza” in Oita City. Footage from July 18 around 9 PM shows a man in sandals entering the shop, taking a bag, and filling it with frozen gyoza from the freezer. Despite the requirement to deposit money in a payment box on the left side of the screen, the man left without paying.
The thefts were discovered when the store noticed a significant discrepancy between sales figures and actual money collected. On previous occasions, the discrepancy was about 50,000 to 60,000 yen per week, totaling approximately 100,000 yen over two weeks.
The man, believed to be the same individual, visited the store ten times since the first incident on July 5, each time taking items without paying. On July 17, he filled his bag with gyoza and pretended to deposit money in the payment box but didn’t actually have any money. He then also took ponzu sauce before leaving without paying.
The store’s losses amount to about 100,000 yen, including frozen gyoza priced at 1,000 yen per pack and ponzu sauce priced at 400 yen per bottle.
Koharu Gyoza representative Keisuke Matsugaki expressed frustration, emphasizing that they work hard to create delicious gyoza despite rising costs. He urged customers to pay for their purchases, noting the potential legal consequences as highlighted by the fact that the police have already identified the thief. The shop filed a report with the Oita Central Police Station on July 19.
by MagazineKey4532