Japanese police have arrested two US nationals after one broke into the Ichikawa City Zoo enclosure of viral monkey Punch while the other filmed the stunt, according to police.
The intruder, identified as 24-year-old Reid Jahnai Daysun, jumped the fence to enter the enclosure, while 27-year-old Neal Jabahri Duan filmed the incident, prompting police in the Tokyo suburb of Chiba to detain both men. Video clips of the incident show Daysun, wearing a blue suit with a smiling emoji head, climbing into the enclosure. Video of the incident has sufaced on social media and is going viral.
The men were apprehended by zoo authorities shortly after the incident unfolded. Ichikawa Police arrested the pair on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business.
Both men have denied the allegations. No monkeys were injured during the incident, the BBC reported, citing police.
Punch the monkey went viral in February after the zoo posted photos of him with a large orangutan plush toy when his mother was seen rejecting him. Punch’s early attempts to fit in failed, as other monkeys either ignored him or behaved aggressively towards him. His only comfort was the plush toy, which a member of staff gifted him as both a muscle-building aid and a maternal substitute.
