Japanese swimmer gets ban and fired from his job for stealing camera
Japanese swimmer Naoya Tomita has been suspended for 18 months by the country’s swimming federation and fired from his job after stealing a camera at the Asian Games in South Korea.
Tomita was expelled from the Sept 19 to Oct 4 Games in Incheon and told he had to pay his own way home after admitting to stealing a camera valued at 8 million won (S$9,540) from a journalist working for a South Korean news agency.
He was initially told he had to stay in South Korea until the case was resolved but was cleared to leave after being issued with a summary indictment and paying a fine of 1 million won.
A former world champion, Tomita won a gold medal in breaststroke at the last Asian Games in 2010 but failed to win any medals this time.
He was caught on closed circuit television stealing the camera after the journalist reported his gear missing.
Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported Tomita had been suspended by the Japanese Swimming Federation until March 31, 2016.
His employer, sports apparel manufacturer Descente, had fired the 25-year-old swimmer, Kyodo reported.
The federation’s executive director Masafumi Izumi and national team manager Norimasa Hirai had been censured over the incident.
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