In a bribery case involving bidding for public works ordered by the Chiba Prefecture Road Office, the Chiba District Public Prosecutors Office announced on the 31st that the office's former director received approximately 200,000 yen in cash in return for providing favors to a construction company. He was charged with bribery.
The person indicted is Toru Shirafuji (54), the former director of the Prefectural Kita-Chiba Road Construction Office in Narita City, Chiba Prefecture.
According to the indictment and other documents, the former director received favors from a construction company in Inzai City around May and August last year in exchange for providing favors to a construction company in Inzai City in a bid for road construction ordered by his office in July of last year. In addition to receiving a total of approximately 200,000 yen in cash on two separate occasions, he is also charged with bribery for receiving approximately 400,000 yen worth of entertainment on 13 occasions.
The former director was in a position to coordinate administrative work related to road construction, and an apartment in Chiba City was used for cash transfers and entertainment.
In addition, Kazumasa Takeuchi (51), the former president of a construction company in Inzai City, was charged with bribery.
Although the prosecutors have not made clear whether he admitted or denied the charges, according to people involved in the investigation, the former director admitted during the police investigation after his arrest that he had accepted bribes for convenience.
Chiba Prefecture Governor Kumagai: ``The prefecture will closely monitor the trial and examine the issues''
Regarding the indictment of the former director of the prefectural road office, Governor Kumagai of Chiba Prefecture said at a press conference, ``I think the facts will be revealed in the trial, so I'll keep an eye on it.'' We would like to examine the issues and issues and come up with appropriate measures to prevent recurrence."