A stunt involving a costumed man and a celebrity baby monkey has landed two American tourists in Japanese police custody. Authorities say 24-year-old student Reid Jahnai Dayson climbed into the monkey enclosure at Ichikawa City Zoo, near Tokyo, on Sunday while 27-year-old singer Neal Jabahri Duan allegedly filmed the incident. Police say Dayson hopped a fence and dropped into a dry moat around the exhibit housing Punch, the baby macaque whose story of being rejected by his mother and comforted by an IKEA orangutan doll turned him into an online favorite under the hashtag #HangInTherePunch, reports CBS News.
Social media images show a person in a smiley-emoji mask and a blue suit holding a stuffed toy dressed the same, sending the monkeys scrambling. The attire "appears to be a mascot associated with a cryptocurrency social media account," reports the New York Times. Zoo staff quickly intervened; officials say the men never got close to the animals. The pair, who initially gave false names and had no ID, have been arrested on suspicion of obstructing business, charges they deny. The zoo, which sees thousands of visitors a day mainly drawn by Punch, says it plans to add "intrusion prevention nets" and patrols, per the Times. The episode comes amid rising concern in Japan over disruptive behavior by some foreign visitors, including high-profile trespassing cases by online content creators.
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