CHIBA, Japan - Two U.S. nationals were fined 300,000 yen ($1,876) each on Friday over a trespassing incident at the enclosure of Punch, a Japanese macaque that went viral for clinging to an orangutan plushie at a zoo near Tokyo.
According to the Chiba District Public Prosecutors Office, the two men were summarily indicted Friday for obstructing the zoo's business, a process that allows prosecutors to seek fines through summary court orders without a formal trial. The men paid the fines, the office said.
Born in July, Punch was abandoned by his mother and was later given the orangutan plushie by zookeepers as a substitute. The zoo has posted updates on his progress on social media, gaining attention online and drawing many visitors.
The Chiba prefectural police arrested both men on May 17, the day of the incident, after they allegedly conspired to climb over a fence into the monkey habitat area at Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba Prefecture, the indictment said.
According to the prefectural police, one of the men scaled the fence while dressed in a character costume, while the other filmed him with a smartphone from outside the enclosure.
