The elderly thieves， aged 88， 71 and 69， met in prison and continued to commit crimes after being released．

In a case in which three elderly men were arrested and indicted for stealing money and valuables from vacant houses in Sapporo and Ebetsu, Hokkaido, it has been revealed that the three were involved in a total of 10 crimes between February and June of this year. The incident occurred in May of this year, when unemployed defendants Hideo Umino (88) of Kita-ku, Sapporo, and Hidemi Matsuda (71) of Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo, broke into a vacant house in Ebetsu City and are accused of stealing whiskey. Unemployed defendant Kenichi Watanabe (69) was also arrested and indicted for storing the stolen whiskey. According to the police, the three were indicted by October 21 on suspicion of involvement in a total of 10 cases of trespass and theft in Sapporo’s Higashi-ku, Kita-ku, Shiroishi-ku, Toyohira-ku, and Ebetsu city between February 11 and June 20 of this year. The total damage amounted to approximately 1.09 million yen. At the first hearing of the defendants Umino (88) and Matsuda (71), held in Sapporo in September, it was revealed that the three, including the defendant Watanabe (69), had become acquainted in the same factory at Sapporo Prison, where they had previously served their sentences. After being released from prison, the defendant Umino (88) was receiving welfare benefits and allegedly handed the theft over to the defendant Matsuda (71). Defendant Matsuda (71) will escort him to the crime scene. The perpetrator, Umino (88), broke into the house by breaking windows and stole money and valuables. It is said that Watanabe (69) was in charge of storing the stolen money and valuables. Hokkaido Broadcasting Co., Ltd.
Defendants Umino (88) and Watanabe (71) to be indicted (July this year)