Japanese woman, 86, cashed dead parents’ pension for 50 years
Her parents died in the 1960s.
But that didn't stop Mitsue Suzuki from cashing their pension over the next five decades.
Her jig was up when a Japanese pensions agency official contacted the local authority in Gifu to ask after the health of a 110-year-old woman and her 112-year-old husband.
Gifu officials said both had died long ago.
On Thursday (May 8), the 86-year-old woman was arrested.
She is believed to have collected more than 50 million yen (S$554,000) for half a century.
Oldest people
If her parents were still alive, they would be among the world’s oldest people.
The world’s oldest man is 112-year-old Sakari Momoi.
A Gifu police officer told AFP Suzuki was arrested for receiving 2.6 million yen between April 2013 and December last year.
Detectives are examining whether they can expand this time period to cover more claims without falling foul of the statute of limitations.
Suzuki has denied any wrongdoing, the officer said.
This is the latest in a series of pension fraud cases.
In some instances, claimants have lived with the corpse of their late relative in order to keep cashing the cheques.
Source: AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now