Police in Tokyo have arrested a 23-year-old Pakistani man on suspicion of sexually assaulting and robbing a woman in her 20s at a hotel in the Kabukicho red light district of Shinjuku Ward.
The suspect, who lives in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, is accused of holding a knife to a woman he had solicited for sex, stealing cash from her and sexually assaulting her, TV Asahi reported.
Police said the incident occurred between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sept 2. According to police, the woman was engaged in street prostitution — a practice known colloquially as tachinbo (standing on the street to pick up men) — and entered the hotel with the suspect after he approached her. It is alleged that after engaging in sexual activity in the room, she was threatened with a knife, robbed of 57,000 yen and sexually assaulted.
Police said the man, whose occupation is unknown, has denied the allegation and quoted him as saying, “I don’t carry a knife, and I didn’t take any money.”
