Japanese man gets jail time for 'kidnapping' dolls

iWon News: "TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail for snatching mannequins used by a cake shop chain to tout its wares.

'Peko-chan,' a round-eyed doll around the size of a six-year-old, has been used by Fujiya Co. Ltd. to sell sweets for five decades and her grinning countenance is a familiar sight in front of shops around Japan.

Recently, however, she has become a favorite of collectors, leading to a rash of 'Peko-chan' snatchings.

Takeishi Shibuya, 31, was convicted of stealing 15 of the large dolls, valued at about 1.1 million yen ($10,170), a court official in Yamagata prefecture, northern Japan, said on Monday.

In several cases, Shibuya used pepper spray and spray paint to fend off store employees, leading prosecutors to demand a sentence of nine years in prison.

'But he has reflected on his crimes and feels bad about what he did, so the sentence was lighter as a result,' the official said.

After a wave of 'Peko-chan' disappearances last year, the company suggested chaining the dolls down, but customers complained that this would be cruel.

"Is it just me or is this one of the dumbest things you have ever heard"