A 53-year-old former assistant police inspector died early Wednesday after drinking herbicide at his home in Karasuyama, Tochigi Prefecture, days after being dishonorably discharged for embezzlement, police said.
Police said the assistant inspector, formerly with the Tochigi Prefectural Police, was rushed to a nearby hospital after his wife noticed something was wrong around 5:15 a.m. The man, whose name was not disclosed, died shortly after 11 a.m.
Investigators discovered a quantity of herbicide in the former policeman's home, which they believe he ingested. A suicide note was not found, police said.
The man admitted during questioning on April 26 to taking about 800,000 yen from a driving school that caters to the elderly. He was fired the next day, police said.