A Japanese bus driver with 29 years of experience on the job lost his $84,000 retirement package after being caught stealing $7 in passenger bus fares.

In 2022, while checking dashcam footage, members of the Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau spotted one of the Japanese city’s bus drivers pocketing a 1,000-yen bill, instead of putting it into the fare processing machine, as per standard procedure. When confronted about the incident, the man denied responsibility, but was eventually fired, and his retirement fund of more than 12 million yen was cancelled. The unnamed driver sued the city of Kyoto, but a Supreme Court ruling upheld the city’s decision, arguing that the man’s behavior could erode the public’s trust in the local transportation system.

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After having his 12 million yen ($84,000) pension denied over $7, the disgruntled bus driver sued the city of Kyoto, but initially lost the court battle. However, that ruling was overturned by a Court of Appeals that ruled that his punishment had been excessive. Earlier this month, Japan’s Supreme Court reinstated the original ruling, arguing that his conduct could undermine public trust in the system.

According to the Minichi newspaper, the Kyoto Transportation Bureau hailed the Supreme Court’s decision.

“Each one of the bus drivers works alone and handles public money. We took it very seriously that embezzlement related to this area of our work took place,” Shinichi Hirai, an official at Kyoto’s Public Transport Bureau, told AFP. “If our strict measures were not accepted, then our organization could become careless, and it could result in eroding the public’s trust.”