Japanese swimmer Naoya Tomita will not appeal last week’s ruling that found him guilty of stealing a journalist’s camera at last year’s Asian Games.
Tomita, a former short course world champ in the 200 breaststroke, was accused of stealing the camera last September at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, and was later expelled from the Games.
Tomita originally admitted to the theft, but later changed course, saying someone else put the camera in his bag without his knowledge.
The Japanese swimming federation suspended Tomita for 18 months, but Tomita still had to face a trial in South Korea, where he plead not guilty.
But last week, the South Korean court disagreed, finding him guilty and fining him the rough equivalent of $890.
Yahoo reports that Tomita will not appeal the ruling, though he still maintains his innocence. Per Yahoo:
“There is no point in fighting this further,” Tomita said at a press conference. “Even though the presiding judge said a person shown in the surveillance camera cannot be identified as me, I was found guilty.”
In the Yahoo article, Tomita also says that the whole incident may bring about the end of his swimming career, as sponsors will be hard to find after the damage to his reputation.
