Birthday corpse discovery sparks fraud investigation
Posted
A home visit by Tokyo officials to a local resident to congratulate him on his 111th birthday instead led to a police search that uncovered his three-decade-old skeleton.
The officials in the Japanese capital believed Sogen Kato was the eldest resident of Adachi ward and visited his listed address to honour him on his birthday, public broadcaster NHK and Jiji Press reported.
But they grew suspicious when his 53-year-old granddaughter told them that Kato "doesn't want to see anybody".
They also realised that the pension fund of his deceased wife had long been unable to contact him.
A police search of the family house found his mummified skeletal remains lying in his bed, dressed in long underwear, reports said.
His relatives told police that he had "confined himself in his room more than 30 years ago and became a living Buddha", according to Jiji Press.
The family had received 9.5 million yen ($120,000) in widower's pension payments via Kato's bank account since his wife died six years ago, and some of the money had recently been withdrawn.
Police are investigating the family for possible fraud charges.
- AFP
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