Japanese man blows town’s Covid relief fund after it appeared in his account

Money should have gone to 463 low-income households but man received it all and commenced online casino spree

A Japanese man who was mistakenly sent 46.3m (287,000/US$358,000) in Covid-19 relief funds has admitted he gambled away the entire amount in the space of a fortnight.

The 24-year-old, who has not been named, was sent the sum in April as part of a local government programme to help residents who were struggling financially as a result of the pandemic.