No free grapes here.

Taking a single grape from the grocery store’s produce aisle without paying is one of those things many people do even though they know they’re not supposed to. It’s also one of those things that people rarely, if ever, get punished for. However, earlier this week a man in Fukuoka did just that and is now in some serious hot water.

According to police, on Wednesday (Oct. 3) at about 9:50 a.m., a 73-year-old unemployed man named Nobuyuki Kaneko was at a greengrocer in the Higashi Ward of Fukuoka City when he took a single grape from a bunch that was on display and ate it without paying.

Unfortunately for Kaneko, the store manager was hiding nearby and watching Kaneko in the act. After witnessing Kaneko’s actions, the store manager came out and was able to keep Kaneko at the store until he could be handed off to police.

Reports say that during the half year leading up to the incident a man resembling Kaneko had been spotted numerous times eating single grapes without paying. Further, numerous discarded grape peels had been found in the area over the same period of time. It appears that this is what sparked the store manager’s interesting behavior during this most recent incident.

Police have arrested Kaneko under suspicion of theft and are looking into his connection to the previous grape incidents. Kaneko has denied the allegations.

As for the value of the stolen grape, that would be 55 yen. Although this seems insignificant, it’s actually fairly pricey in terms of grapes. This is because the type of grape Kaneko allegedly stole is one that costs 799 yen per bunch. In other words, it’s exactly the kind of grape most people would love to “sample.”

Source: ANN News, Asahi Shinbun

Image: ブドウ1粒盗み食いか 73歳男「盗んでいない」(18/10/03) (ANN News)