JAPAN 21 COMPUTERS CONTAINING PERSONAL PATIENT INFORMATION STOLEN FROM HOSPITALDaily Yomiuri On-LineMie Pref. hospital robbed of 4.8 mil. yen, 21 computers

Yomiuri Shimbun

About 4.8 million yen and 21 personal computers were stolen from a hospital in Ueno, Mie Prefecture, on two occasions in October and November, police said Tuesday.

The police suspect the theft was possibly committed by the same suspect who has robbed hospitals of cash and computers that contain personal information in neighboring Nara Prefecture.

However, the computers stolen from the hospital did not contain personal data, according to hospital officials.

According to the investigation, an employee of the hospital found early Oct. 22 that 528,000 yen was missing from a safe in a first-floor office. The safe is believed to have been broken open by a crowbar. Seventeen computers also were stolen from another office on the same floor.

Four computers and 4.28 million yen were stolen Nov. 7 from a second-floor office after the windows were broken and a safe in the office was ransacked