A 31-year-old male employee working for Otsu City’s Child Welfare Department in Shiga Prefecture has received a disciplinary suspension of three months after he allegedly violated the anti-stalking law. The unnamed suspect is accused of harassing a female colleague over 200 times on the mobile-messaging app Line and via phone calls.

According to Otsu City officials, the man sent messages to the woman, who is in her 30s, 202 times via messages and phone calls during August and September, asking to meet her outside work, Sankei Shimbun reported. In addition, the man pretended to be the woman on Facebook and posted 32 messages that badmouthed their workplace.

He also sent several emails to Otsu City government office, slandering the woman. After the woman consulted with police in October, the suspect was issued a warning based on the Anti-Stalking Law.

Otsu City officials also investigated the man. He was quoted as saying, “After I didn’t receive a reply from her, I got emotional and didn’t think about the consequences of my actions.”

© Japan Today