Ueno ‘rip-off’ bar worker accused of beating customer, extorting ¥1 millionTOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 30-year-old employee of a hostess bar in the Ueno district for allegedly assaulting a customer and extorting over 1 million yen from him in a brutal “rip-off” scheme, reports TBS News (July 29). When the man refused to pay, Kikuchi and his accomplices allegedly punched and kicked him in the face. They then escalated their demands, threatening the victim by saying, “With our overtime pay, you owe us about 1.4 million yen.” The assailants then forced the battered man to borrow money from a consumer loan company, ultimately robbing him of approximately 1.02 million yen in cash. The establishment has been the subject of numerous bottakuri (rip-off) complaints, and police are currently investigating the suspects for further crimes.