Man Hijacks Ambulance in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture, Arrested After Being Found Asleep in Nearby Parking Spot

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:12 JST, January 21, 2025

KUKI, Saitama — A man was arrested Monday after he allegedly hijacked an ambulance that he had called to his own home.

According to police in Kuki, Saitama Prefecture, the 46-year-old man made an emergency call complaining of stomach pain. When ambulance staff arrived at his home, however, he burst into anger, took out a knife and brandished it at the staff.

The ambulance staff fled the home, after which the man allegedly drove away in the ambulance at about 7:25 p.m. He has been arrested on suspicion of theft.

The suspect, whose occupation is unknown, has told investigators at the Kuki Police Station of the Saitama prefectural police that he is guilty of the allegations. “I was driving myself to the hospital,” he said.

Investigators from the police station found the ambulance in a parking space for a drugstore about 100 meters away from the man’s home. They arrested the suspect, who was asleep in the vehicle.

According to the Saitama Tobu Fire Bureau, the man was drunk when the ambulance arrived at his home.