Japanese swimmer expelled for stealing camera

Gold medallist Naoya Tomita of Japan poses after the men's 200m breaststroke final at the 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Dubai in this December 17, 2010 file photo. A Japanese athlete at the Asian Games has been charged by police after admitting to stealing a camera from a South Korean journalist, police said on September 27, 2014. The Japanese Olympic Committee said in a statement the athlete was swimmer Naoya Tomita, a gold medallist from Guangzhou in 2010 but who finished out of the medals in Incheon. Picture taken December 17, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

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INCHEON, South Korea - Japanese swimmer Naoya Tomita has been expelled from the Japanese team competing in the Asian Games after he admitted stealing a camera from a South Korean journalist, officials said here on Saturday.

"The swimmer (Tomita) stole a camera from a South Korean journalist that was left in area. CCTV revealed the swimmer had put the camera into his bag," Tsuyoshi Aoki, head of the Japanese swimming team, told a press conference.

"He has confessed to stealing the camera but interrogation is still on. He has not been booked officially.

"He has been expelled from the team effective immediately. He will have to find his own way back to Japan. Further consequences of the act will be decided upon in Japan," added Aoki.

Tomita, 25, won the gold medal in the men's 200-meter breaststroke at the 2010 Asian Game but failed to win a medal in Incheon.