Steal $7, lose $84,000
Kyoto City Bus driver loses 12-million-yen retirement package after pocketing a 1,000-yen fare.
A Japanese bus driver just learned that the price of a $7 theft is exactly $84,000 in pension benefits.
As reported in Mainichi, the case, which ended up in the Supreme Court this month, centers on a 58-year-old Kyoto City Bus driver who pocketed a 1,000-yen ($7) bill instead of dropping it in the fare box. The transgression might seem minor—equivalent to the price of a convenience store lunch—but Japan's highest court has ruled it justifies the forfeiture of his entire 12-million-yen retirement package.
The Osaka High Court initially decided the he should not lose his retirement benefits, especially since the driver had already returned the stolen fare. But the Supreme Court's First Petty Bench calculated differently, determining that the municipal transit authority's binary response—total pension forfeiture—was appropriate for any breach of trust, regardless of scale.
"The withholding of retirement money was lawful," the Supreme Court declared on April 17, as reported in The Mainichi, calculating the final cost of a momentary moral error at exactly 12,000,000% of the original offense.
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