EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Police Officer Nabbed for Defrauding Elderly Dementia Patient

Kyoto, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–The Kyoto prefectural police department on Thursday arrested a 61-year-old former officer of the police department in the western Japan prefecture and a woman on suspicion of defrauding an elderly dementia patient out of her bank card and passbook, investigative sources told Jiji Press. The ex-officer is a board member of a Kyoto-based group, mainly comprising former police officers, that provides daily assistance to elderly dementia patients. Prefectural police believe the two suspects withdrew several million yen in cash using the victim’s bank card. According to investigative sources, the suspects are believed to have said to a woman in her 90s who uses the assistance group’s services between March and June that they would manage her passbooks. The assistance group offers a service in which group members pick up elderly dementia patients who are held for protection at police stations or police boxes, on behalf of their families. On its webpage, the group vows to “contribute to the creation of a local community where elderly people can live with peace of mind, in cooperation with the police.” The arrested ex-police officer previously worked in a division of the Kyoto police department dealing with theft. After retiring in spring 2023, he and another former police officer founded the assistance group. The latest incident came to light after family members of the victim consulted the police department in June. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]