The Okinawa Prefectural Police Inspection Division suspended a 33-year-old male police sergeant serving at Ginowan Police Station for six months from duty on May 18th as a disciplinary action.

The man is suspected of forcing six of his junior police officers to pay a total of ¥1.09 million for food and drinks between 2014 to 2016.

A 30-year-old male police sergeant at Itoman Police was also subjected to a disciplinary action of one-month suspension. He is suspected of having bullied four of his juniors to pay a total of ¥80,000 for food and drinks.

Both officers resigned voluntarily on the same day.

According to officials at the Inspection Division, the two policemen worked at Ginowan Police Station together from the end of March 2014 to the end of March 2017, where they made up a group they called “the corps,” which consisted of seven police in their 20’s and 30’s. The two men ordered others to pay for hostess bars and taxis. In addition, the sergeant at Ginowan Police ordered the group members to buy watches of the same brand as his “as a sign of our membership.”

The two men admitted to the charges.

Papers on the sergeant at Ginowan were sent to the Prosecutor’s Office, as he was suspected of breaking a publicly-owned computer last December. Papers on the officer at Itoman Police were also sent to the Prosecutor’s Office, as he is suspected of using violence against two of his junior police officers.

In addition, the sergeant at Ginowan Police was found to have inquired private information about a woman with whom he had an adulterous relationship from December 2011 to February 2013. His actions were violating privacy protection ordinances, however the statute of limitations had already passed and the charges were dropped.

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