In an echo of a similar case last September, a teenaged store clerk at a Hokkaido 7-Eleven was forced to kneel for 25 minutes after she brought her customers hot coffee instead of iced coffee. Thanks to a bystander who saw what was happening, four people have now been arrested for this incident.
Netizens were quick to point out the utter pointlessness of this crime, which has left many wondering: What kind of person wants to drink iced coffee in Hokkaido in December anyway?
From Yahoo! Japan:
4 People Arrested After Forcing Convenience Store Clerk to Kneel – Kushiro, Hokkaido
On December 29, the Kushiro division of the Hokkaido Police Department announced that they have arrested Matsunaga Hiroki (38), manager of a restaurant in Wakatakecho, Kushiro, along with 3 others on charges of coercion after they allegedly threatened a convenience store clerk and forced her to kneel down on the ground.
The three other people arrested were Nakaarai Tae (21), unemployed, of 4-chome Tsurunohigashi, Kushiro; Kabeya Tomokazu (38), a company executive from 2-chome Minamioodori, Kushiro; and Sugahara Nishi (38), unemployed, from 5-chome Ashino, Kushiro.
At about 5:05 AM on December 28 at the 7-Eleven at 1-chome, Musa, Kushiro, the suspects purchased self-service drip coffee and requested that the teen-aged female store clerk operate the machine for them. When the store clerk brought them hot coffee, they picked a fight, saying “I asked for iced coffee!” It seems that after threatening that “we can bring dozens of young guys in here,” they forced her to get down on the ground and kneel in front of them for about 25 minutes.
When another customer came to the store and realized what was happening, he notified the police through a local resident. Three of the four suspects have admitted their guilt.
Comments from 2ch.net:
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
But there’s a precedent for this… Did they want to get arrested?
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
Human garbage like this should never leave the house.
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
Make sure you get a huge settlement!
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
I’m sure the teenage girl will be traumatized by this, right? The service industry will probably be impossible for her now because of PTSD
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
Who asks for iced coffee in a cold place like Hokkaido? Hot would be the usual. So cold!
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
This could have been solved if they had just switched out the hot coffee cup for an iced coffee cup. Only a weirdo would pick a fight over this.
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
When I imagine an old geezer saying “we can bring dozens of young guys in here” I want to cry. It’s even worse than imagining my own daughter being forced to kneel down.
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
What is this bunch of dimwits doing, they’re old enough to know better! Did they leave their brains behind somewhere along the way?
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
From the fact that they made the store clerk do it even though it was self-service, it’s pretty clear their goal was to pick a fight from the very beginning
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
“they forced her to get down on the ground and kneel in front of them for about 25 minutes.”
25 minutes is a looong time! Bunch of jerks with too much time on their hands…
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
At 7-Eleven, the containers for hot and iced coffee are different. She should have said they were interfering with her duties and called the police… This time of year all sorts of drunks and idiots come to pick a fight, so it’s really tough.
自治スレでＬＲ変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
In Hokkaido, if they just left it outside for 2 minutes wouldn’t it already be iced coffee?
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
Couldn’t they have just cooled it down again?
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
That isn’t something that 3 old guys who are almost 40 should be saying to a teenaged girl. I wonder if they can give them a jail sentence for this.
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
It seems like there are plenty of incidents like this that just don’t get reported. This is just like what happened on Hanzawa. I think there even need to be limits on viewing TV dramas. Idiots shouldn’t be allowed to see that stuff.
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
Not even an idiot would order an iced coffee in Hokkaido at this time of year. She must have made a hot coffee out of habit. They should have just said “Sorry it’s out of season, but could you please change it to an iced coffee for me?”
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
If you apologize to a faker like that, you lose.
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
Ugghh how uncool. A man who’s old enough to know better shouldn’t lose it over 100 yen. w
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
Iced or hot, the cups are completely different www What the hell are these guys blaming her for
自治スレでLR変更等議論中＠＼(^o^)／:
If this was a normal Japanese person, even if he asked for iced coffee but was given hot instead he wouldn’t complain. He might think to himself about whether he should come to that store again, but still.
