A Japanese junior high school principal lost his job and pension after cheating on his coffee purchase by overfilling his coffee cup at least seven times at convenience stores, The Asahi Shimbun reported.
The 59-year-old junior high school principal’s retirement pay was estimated to be around $135,000, according to the Japanese news outlet. (RELATED: Drag Queen Principal Resigns From Oklahoma School Following Backlash: REPORT)
Principal loses job, retirement pay for coffee theft at store | The Asahi Shimbun Asia & Japan Watch https://t.co/DRYQu86rvB
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The principal was caught overfilling by a store clerk when he pressed the button on a self-service coffee machine for a large coffee but had only paid for a regular sized coffee, according to the school board, The Asahi Shimbun reported. The principal reportedly confessed to having previously done the same scam twice before at that store and four times at another store.
Prosecutors ultimately chose not to charge the principal for the thefts, the outlet reported. The principal reportedly told the school board that he was “truly sorry” for his illicit activity and that he did these acts “on the impulse of the moment.” The board elected to impose a “strict application” of the governmental disciplinary guidelines, a member told The Asahi Shimbun
“We reviewed past disciplinary actions and concluded that dismissal is appropriate for a repeated offense,” the school official told the outlet. The board reportedly announced removal of the former principal and rescinded his teaching license and pension Jan. 30.
The decision has its critics. “The loss of a teaching license and retirement pay have [a] significantly larger impact than the losses the principal was responsible for,” Professor Takashi Sakata of Japan Women’s University in Tokyo told The Asahi Shimbun. Sakata told the outlet he thought it was a “disproportionately severe” verdict that just “gives the impression that they just followed the formality of precedents.”
Inglorious ends to the teaching profession are not unique to Japan. The principal of Florida’s Tallahassee Classical School resigned back on March 23 after failing to notify parents about a nude Michelangelo statue that was shown during class as school protocol dictated, according to multiple reports. Another Floridian principal was allegedly removed from a high school alongside a number of the school staff after it was discovered that a transgender athlete was permitted to be on the female sport team, NBC 6 reported.