Sapporo couple arrested for allegedly leaving 3 children home alone for hours
Hiroki Ogasawara, 30, a restaurant employee, and his 26-year-old wife Rio, a part-timer, stand accused of abandonment by people responsible for protection, according to Hokkaido Prefectural Police's Toyohira Police Station.
The pair is specifically accused of leaving their eldest son, who is in the lower grade of elementary school, and two daughters of preschool age unattended inside their condominium in Sapporo's Toyohira Ward between around 1 p.m. and 7:25 p.m. on July 16 while they went out.
"We were out shopping and dining," the parents were quoted as telling investigators, as they admitted to the allegations against them.
According to the prefectural police, a resident nearby called police at around 7:10 p.m. on July 16, saying, "A child is crying out on the third-floor balcony, saying, 'Dad, mom.'" The resident and officers from Toyohira Police Station confirmed the safety of the children, and the police took them into protective custody. None of the children were injured.
The temperature in Sapporo reached a high of 30.6 degrees Celsius that day, and it was hot inside the apartment when the officers arrived, with the children found sweating. The police will investigate how and why the couple left the children home alone and whether they were abusing them on a daily basis.
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SAPPORO -- A couple who allegedly left their three young children unattended at their home here for more than six hours were arrested July 17, police said. Hiroki Ogasawara, 30, a restaurant employee, and his 26-year-old wife Rio, a part-timer, stand accused of abandonment by people responsible for protection, according to Hokkaido Prefectural Police's Toyohira Police Station. The pair is specifically accused of leaving their eldest son, who is in the lower grade of elementary school, and two daughters of preschool age unattended inside their condominium in Sapporo's Toyohira Ward between around 1 p.m. and 7:25 p.m. on July 16 while they went out. "We were out shopping and dining," the parents were quoted as telling investigators, as they admitted to the allegations against them. According to the prefectural police, a resident nearby called police at around 7:10 p.m. on July 16, saying, "A child is crying out on the third-floor balcony, saying, 'Dad, mom.'" The resident and officers from Toyohira Police Station confirmed the safety of the children, and the police took them into protective custody. None of the children were injured. The temperature in Sapporo reached a high of 30.6 degrees Celsius that day, and it was hot inside the apartment when the officers arrived, with the children found sweating. The police will investigate how and why the couple left the children home alone and whether they were abusing them on a daily basis.
