InsideJapan News Network

A policeman in Japan has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.

Convicted by a branch of the Tokyo district court, the law enforcement officer was found guilty of indecent conduct towards a teenage girl and for thefts, which involved the stealing of women's underwear, reports Mainichi Daily News.

The conviction relates to crimes committed last year, where on one occasion the officer broke into an apartment in Tachikawa, a district of Tokyo, and stole a number of items that included underwear.

"His awareness of the norms as a police officer was numbed, and his criminal responsibility is great," said Judge Kazunobu Yamazaki.

In addition to a number of other thefts, Mr Kamihara stole the bag of the indecently assaulted girl, in an incident that took place in February 2007.

The convicted man, Keisuke Kamihara, was formerly a senior officer one of the Metropolitan Police Department's riot units.

In related news, every year, over 4,000 individuals are apprehended by the police in relation to groping incidents on the country's public transport, reports Japan for the Uninvited.