Japanese bus driver steals $7, loses $84,000 pension

But on Thursday, the Supreme Court delivered a final ruling in the city’s favour, reinstating the original penalty.

It ruled that the man’s conduct could undermine public trust in the system and the sound operation of the bus service.

In the original incident, a group of five passengers entered the bus and paid the man 1150 yen, according to the ruling.

The driver instructed the group to drop 150 yen worth of coins into a fare collection box, and accepted a 1000-yen bill by hand but didn’t report it properly.

Despite being caught on camera, he tried to deny the theft during a meeting with his superior.

The driver had been reprimanded several times during his career over various incidents, according to the ruling.

This included repeatedly smoking an electronic cigarette while on duty, albeit when no passengers were on board.

Kyoto City hailed the decision.

“Each one of the bus drivers works alone and handles public money. We took it very seriously that embezzlement related to this area of our work took place,” Shinichi Hirai, an official at Kyoto’s public transport bureau, told AFP.

“If our strict measures were not accepted, then our organisation could become careless, and it could result in eroding the public’s trust,” he said.

– Agence France-Presse