After being fired for stealing passengers’ fares, a Japanese bus driver with 29 years of service lost his 12 million yen (Php 4.7 million) retirement package.
The worker, who remained anonymous, was dismissed by Kyoto City after he was caught on camera stealing 1,000 yen (Php 396.46) from his bus in 2022.
He later filed a lawsuit against the city after his retirement funds, amounting to over 12 million yen, were withheld.
A court initially ruled against him, but the verdict was eventually overturned in his favor after a subsequent ruling deemed the punishment excessive.
However, the Supreme Court upheld the original penalty in its final ruling, siding with the city.
It ruled that the man’s actions could erode public trust in the system and the sound operation of the bus service.
In the said ruling, a group of five passengers paid him 1,150 yen (Php 456.01) to board the bus in the initial incident.
The 58-year-old driver allegedly took a 1,000-yen bill from a passenger in February 2022 rather than placing it in the fare processing system, according to the Mainichi newspaper.
When the Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau noticed the occurrence on the bus’s dashcam footage, they discovered the theft, the outlet reported.
He attempted to deny it in a meeting with his superior, even though it was captured on camera.
The ruling stated that the driver had received multiple reprimands for different situations throughout his tenure.
This includes smoking an electronic cigarette on the job several times, but only when no passengers were present.
Shinichi Hirai, an official at Kyoto’s public transport bureau, told AFP, “Each one of the bus drivers works alone and handles public money. We took it very seriously that embezzlement related to this area of our work took place.”
He added, “If our strict measures were not accepted, then our organization could become careless and it could result in eroding the public’s trust.”
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