Japanese Woman Arrested for Calling Cops 15,000 Times
The police in Japan have arrested a 44-year-old woman in Sakai near Osaka and charged her for fraudulently obstructing their work, after she made more than 15,000 emergency calls over a period of six months. The police who ruled out a case of mental illness suspect the woman may have been suffering from loneliness.
Reports say authorities visited the woman several times asking her to cease and desist from making the calls. Warnings, however, failed to stop her.
The woman, who started making the calls to the police in May 2013, continued doing it following which the police made the arrest.
"She made as many as 927 emergency calls in one day, disturbing our police duties," said a police officer from the city of Sakai, near the western city of Osaka.
Police said her calls did not have any real meaning.
"She didn't make up a story that required us to respond- it was just total nonsense," the officer told reporters.
The police have so far ruled out that the woman may be suffering from any mental illness that may be the cause for her strange behaviour.
"We visited her place about 60 times before arresting her, trying to persuade her not to call us again. I wonder if she was just lonely," the officer said.
Reports say the woman has been charged with fraudulent obstruction of police business. The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to three years in prison or a fine of USD 4,900.