The Tokyo District Court on Thursday sentenced the father of television personality Rola to two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years, for swindling the national medical and insurance system out of ¥1.67 million ($14,000).
In handing down the ruling on Jurip Al-Asa, 55, Judge Hironori Yokoyama pointed to the "maliciousness" of the Bangladeshi's acts. But he suspended the sentence because Al-Asa has paid back all the money and expressed regret.
According to the ruling, he acquired the money between June 2007 and July 2012 by submitting false documents for medical and insurance benefits, including some showing he had received medical treatment in Bangladesh after contracting dengue fever.
"The case is highly malicious, as he made a fake hospitalization certification using the name of a hospital that actually exists because he thought it would be difficult to confirm," Yokoyama said.
Al-Asa is a permanent resident of Japan. Individuals covered by the public health insurance system, including foreign residents, who receive medical treatment abroad are entitled to a certain amount of reimbursement.