Bike 'thief' in Japan walks free from court after convincing judge he was only borrowing it

A man charged with bike theft in Japan has walked free from court – after convincing a judge that he was only borrowing the bicycle in question.

Japan Today reports that a judgment handed down at Fukuoka District Court last Monday found the defendant in the case not guilty.

The defendant had been riding a bicycle on 28 June when he was stopped by a police officer for questioning.

The suspect, who was on parole for an earlier theft charge, was arrested when it transpired that the bike he was riding did not belong to him.

Given his previous history, he would have been facing heavy penalties, says Japan Today.

At his trial, however, the 24 year old explained that following his release from prison, he had moved into a housing complex where he noticed that a bike had been left unlocked in the car park.

He used the bike for shopping trips for around an hour each time, and would always return the bike where he found it.

On the day he was arrested, however, he had been using the bike for 12 hours.

But the judge said that his using the bike for half a day was “not beyond the scope of borrowing,” based on his previous riding.

The case has provoked much comment online, with one person saying, “This is the kind of case they would use in law school.”

Another pointed out, “What about the wear to the tyres, rims, and frame? He is shortening the life of the bike,” while another asked, “Is that judge okay?”

Following the decision, a prosecutor working on the case said: “After examining the ruling and consulting with higher agencies, we will respond appropriately.”

Fukuoka does have its own public bike share programme, called COGICOGI, which is open 24 hours a day – and, if the defendant in the case had used that instead, it would have saved a lot of time and money.