Two men, Masuhiro Katsuyama, of Chiba, and Daigo Mihara, of Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, both 21, have been arrested for extorting the company employee, whose name is being withheld. Katsuyama, who also worked for the same company as the extortion victim and the woman, and Mihara have admitted to squeezing at least 600,000 yen from the 28-year-old man. "I wanted to cover my living costs," one of the pair reportedly told grilling officers.
Police said the company employee lent 60,000 yen to a female colleague last autumn and made her hand over a pair of knickers as collateral.
Katsuyama learned of the bizarre story and summoned the 28-year-old man to a park in Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, on the night of Dec. 30 last year. He also brought Mihara, a vocational college student and old friend.
The pair confronted the unnamed man in the park and reportedly demanded he pay compensation for forcing the woman to act in an "embarrassing way." They then forced the man to withdraw 600,000 yen from a nearby cash machine and stole the money. Investigators are grilling the duo on suspicion that they extorted money from the man on more than one occasion. (Wire reports, Japan, March 18, 2004)
