Armed 'monkey' holds up shop

2005-01-26 21:19

Yokkaichi, Japan - A man dressed in a monkey costume threatened an employee at a late-night convenience store with a knife in the early hours of Tuesday, according to police.

At around 2:15am, the man walked into the Lawson outlet, threatened a 26-year-old employee with a knife and demanded money, according to a report in the Mainichi Daily News.

When the employee went into the back office to alert the manager the robber disappeared. Nobody was injured in the incident and no money was stolen, according to investigators.

The robber appeared to be a man in his 30s or 40s and was about 175cm tall and of medium build.

Monkey suits similar to the one worn by the Yokkaichi robber are popular with young schoolgirls. They are easily obtainable, but it is rare to hear of them being used as a disguise for a robber.

However, it is not unheard of for real monkeys to commit robbery in Japan. Such thefts are usually carried out by Japanese macaques stealing fruit from farms or sweets from tourists.

- News24