Tuesday, June 28th.
I mean the Japanese police.
I mean, surely they must be on the case. What would be the first step in investigating this sort of thing. Surely they went door to door in my apartment building, looking for evidence.
Then I thought about the police in this country, and realized that they probably didn't do anything.
So I thought about where to start. If Conan can do it, so can I!
The question is simple; how can they break in to my place, pack up all my stuff, move it out, and be gone in about 3 hours. Of course, I made it easier by having half of my belongings in moving boxes. Not only that, but I had empty moving boxes and packing tape ready to go for the rest. But still, they moved fast.
The answer was simple, they moved it all to another room in the building.
But that's so god damned simple. The police must have explored that route. Out of curiosity I went to check things out.
I'm in my room (which has no lock on it at the moment). I go onto the balcony. I lean out. I look in the room next to me, a room that has been empty for at least 2 months.
And...
There's my shit! I can see some moving boxes, my desk, a bottle of Patron tequila. 100% mine. Unbelievable.
Back to the cops, explained to them what's going on, got the investigators to come down.
Getting shit done.
We went back and I showed the police.
Then, those dreaded words... doshio... what do we do? It's my stuff, stolen from my room and put into another. But, that room is owned by someone, and they can't just go smashing in. There's paperwork to be done, warrants to be signed, and procedure to be followed.
And time to be wasted.
Speaking of time, It's now day 10, and the police have finally set a date to execute the warrant. Day 12, in the morning, I'll meet them at my room, they will break in to the neighbors apartment, and I will find out if the thieves were simply using the room for storage or if they took the good stuff and left the undesirables behind. Fuckers obviously don't know how much Patron tequila costs in this country!
The police said that I have to take my belongings on the spot, after they do some minor police work like dusting for prints. Not that I would, but they told me I can't move anything back into my original room. Luckily my friend J's place is big, and he's out of town, so I can rent a truck and take it all there.
Soon... soon this chapter will be over. Then I can focus on finding a new apartment, and suing anyone and everyone I can. I've been told by legal council that in a civil court, the old owner, the new owner, the owner of the adjacent apartment, and the building management are all possibly liable. I'm not the type of person to sue, or hold grudges, or even really get upset for that matter, but I think this would be an interesting story.
Next update's gonna be a big one!
Oh, and some people sent pity money to my paypal account (macduckston@gmail.com). You guys are awesome! I used some of it to buy teaching materials for my kid's classes, and most of it to get good and drunk!
9 comments:
Holy crap, what a development. I've been following this saga with horror and fascination, and I hope it all goes right for you.
That's great news man .. now sue everyone's ass! Gambatte!
I'm not the suing type either, but if you can get justice for this hell ... make them burn.
I'm glad you managed to catch a break! Did the owner(s) ever tell you what was going on with your stuff? I imagine they would have realized how serious you were when you had the locksmith tear off the lock :O
You are my new hero.
Sometimes I wonder if everyone's an idiot in this country. Then I read a story like this, and I don't wonder much. I'd love to see how long your typical criminal, or cop, would last outside of Japan. I know the kids I teach in a Tokyo international school would be finished off halfway though the first recess.
Sue them all. Feel no guilt and sue them all. Thing is, the legal system here will drag on for a few decades, but then give you some satisfaction, if you are still here. However, your typical J-scammer is afraid of any involvement with the police, so will be quick to try to come to a 'settlement'. You should be able to get that out of both of the main parties, and are well entitled.
DUDE so happy you didn't lose all your shit. That's very good. FYI, I was checking your blog religiously when I read about this, whereas before I would sort of go in once every week or two and catch up.
So, now you know, for future endeavors, that getting robbed is a good way to get consistent readership.
hope you're doing ok...waiting impatiently for the next installment.
Just out of curiosity what does Patron run in Japan?
A bottle of Patron is probably 6000 yen. Not sure, this one was a gift.
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