- According to a report by The Mainichi, police in Japan have announced that a 51-year-old woman has been arrested for making 2,761 fraudulent emergency calls.
- The woman was taken into custody on Thursday for allegedly obstructing the operations of a local fire department.
- During questioning, she confessed to making the calls because she was feeling lonely and seeking attention.
According to Japan’s The Mainichi newspaper, a 51-year-old unemployed woman named Hiroko Hatagami was arrested for making 2,761 fake emergency calls.
The arrest was made in Matsudo, a city in Japan’s Chiba prefecture, on suspicion of disrupting the operations of the local fire department.
The Chiba Prefectural Police accused Hatagami of repeatedly placing emergency calls through her cellphone and other means, both from her residence and nearby locations.
According to The Mainichi, Hatagami’s false calls often revolved around fabricated health issues, including severe stomach aches, fake overdoses, and leg pain.
Between August 2020 and May 2023, Hatagami repeatedly requested ambulances from the Matsudo Fire Department, only to refuse medical attention upon their arrival or deny making the calls altogether.
Despite warnings from both the fire department and the police, Hatagami continued her nuisance calls.
Finally, on June 20, the emergency services department filed a complaint with the police, leading to her subsequent arrest.
The Mainichi revealed that Hatagami has admitted to the allegations, stating her motivation was a desire for companionship.
Reportedly, she said, “I was lonely and wanted someone to listen to me and give me attention.”
This incident is not the first of its kind in Japan, as a similar case occurred in 2013 when another woman made over 15,000 nuisance calls to the police over a six-month period.
In that instance, the woman made as many as 927 emergency calls in a single day and was eventually arrested after multiple visits to her home by the police, according to The Straits Times.
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