OSAKA -- A police officer pleaded guilty Sept. 10 to charges of accepting 8.2 million yen for leaking information to a man at the center of a fraud investigation, letting him know when detectives would be following him.
Koji Tsujihara, 44, who was an officer with Osaka Prefectural Police, admitted at his first hearing at the Osaka District Court that he leaked the information to Hajime Ishikawa. Ishikawa, 57, was accused of fraudulent business dealings involving swindling golf clubs memberships and other valuables worth about 76 million yen.
Ishikawa, appearing at the same court on charges of bribing Tsujihara, also pleaded guilty. He was indicted separately in the swindling case last month. According to Tsujihara's indictment, he gave copies of investigation papers to Ishikawa and let him know when he would be under police surveillance.
Prosecutors charged that Tsujihara actively sought the bribes, saying he wanted a membership of a golf course and an allowance of money. Tsujihara leaked the information to Ishikawa from April 1994 through May this year, and received 4.3 million yen in cash and other valuables -- including a golf club membership worth 3.9 million yen -- according to the indictment.