(ATR) Stealing a camera from the Asian Games will get you an 18-month ban from sport activities.
Naoya Tomita is suspended until March 31, 2016, as determined by the Japanese Swimming Federation.
Tomita was caught on closed circuit video stealing a camera from a journalist at a South Korean news agency. He was fined $934 and, according to Japanese news agency Kyodo, fired from his job at Descente, a sport apparelmanufacturer.
The swimmer also had to pay his own travel fare back to Japan from Incheon and was ordered to leave the Japanese team immediately on September 19.
"I feel sorry and feel regret," Japanese Olympic Committee president Tsunekazu Takeda said to Kyodo.
"I want to apologize to all the people [of Japan]."
Kyodo reported the JOC also censured Tsuyoshi Aoki, the head Japanese delegate at the Asian Games, in the wake of the suspension.
Japanese Swimming Federation executive director Masafumi Izumi and national team coach Norimasa Hirai were also censured after the incident.
Written by Aaron Bauer
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