The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office on Oct. 11 indicted Mr. Tsunehiko Maeda, a prosecutor with the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office's special investigation squad, on suspicion of tampering with data on a floppy disk seized from a suspect in a case involving alleged abuse of the postage discount system for the disabled. It also dismissed him in disgrace.
In the case, Ms. Atsuko Muraki, a former welfare ministry bureau chief, was acquitted of a charge that she had instructed her subordinate Mr. Tsutomu Kamimura to issue a certificate to a certain group recognizing it as a benefactor for the disabled, and thus enabling it to use the discount. Mr. Maeda was charged with changing the final update time on the floppy disk — which was seized from Mr. Kamimura and contained the certificate text — from "12.20.06" a.m. June 1, 2004 to "9:10.56" p.m. June 8, 2004.
In addition to Mr. Maeda, the former chief and vice chief of the squad, Mr. Hiromichi Otsubo and Mr. Motoaki Saga — were arrested Oct. 1 on suspicion of instructing him to tell senior prosecution officials that he had "accidentally" changed the data even though the two men knew he had done it intentionally.