crime

15-year-old girl, two other teens arrested for forcing girl to jump off bridge in Fukuoka

31 Comments

Police in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, have arrested three teenagers on charges of inflicting injuries on a 16-year-old girl after they forced her to jump off a bridge.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 2 a.m. on Jan 5. A 15-year-old girl and two other teens called the girl to meet them near Kurume Station’s east exit and pressured her to jump off a pedestrian bridge down the road, Sankei Shimbun reported. The three threatened that if she didn’t jump, they would harm her family, telling her she had no choice but to jump.

The girl eventually jumped off the bridge landing on the road six meters below. She suffered injuries, including bone fractures to her heels.

Police said the injured girl was an acquaintance of the 15-year-old girl’s sister and the two reportedly had money issues. On that night, the 15-year-old girl called the victim on behalf of her sister.

A witness reported the incident to the police which resulted in the arrest of the three suspects.

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31 Comments
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Hope she recovers soon.

Just finished reading the news, there was a story about teens convicted for cyber-bullying that resulted in a death.

Bullying and especially cyber-bullying bullying is a major problem as cyber-bullying can be 24/7.

15 ( +15 / -0 )

They'll receive no punishment. The parents will pay some compensation money, and the bullies will fake-apologise and all of them forced to promise to cooperate. Then the bullying will continue, much worse.

12 ( +19 / -7 )

IF your enticing/forcing someone to jump of a bridge, you know bam well that is going to kill, maim, seriously injure someone, this allows should carry a jail sentence, 2-3 years minimum and possibly more depending on the injuries sustained by the injured party. and then we should look at the issue of threats to harm her family, well more jail time.

11 ( +12 / -1 )

Being made to jump from 6 meters is terrifying for anyone.

She could have died, and they probably wanted her to be hurt. Very evil people here who shouldn’t be on the streets, imagine if that was your child

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Isn't that attempted murder?

9 ( +11 / -2 )

@strangerland

Bullies don't get punished properly in Japan. It's well known and that's why it just keeps on happening. Stories of bullying incidents make the headlines, and then quietly disappear never to heard about again.

Remember the student who was filmed kicking and assaulting his teacher in class back in September last year? Headlines all over the world. He was supposedly arrested. Since then, there hasn't been a mention of him. The story disappeared and we are forced to conclude that somebody paid someone, or some kind of forced apology was made. The lack of any follow up means the student was likely not charged with anything.

In other words, no proper punishment was delivered to a violent student. Wait for it, this story will disappear too and blend in with all the other incidents that simply vanish from public view after some half-hearted apology and a pay-ff.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Threatening to harm her family shows an underlying nastiness. I hope that they are brought to book quickly as to nip this in bud.

If they can behave like this at 15, what are they going to turn out like as adults?

7 ( +7 / -0 )

smithinjapan

You do have a point, and many people have gotten off with leiniency.

But what you said is not the whole truth.

The reasons why minors are let off easy are a whole other topic, being as that’s the law and they won’t be tried as adults.

Most western first world countries do not punish people anymore. We don’t believe in giving people what they dished out to others as we adopted this soft stance.

These kidz will probably be charged, and named and shamed by the internet. Most likely they will be sent to a school for delinquents which is right. The entire neighborhood will probably shun them and they will have to move.

In a fair world they should be made to jump themselves, pay the victim for several years, and go to Juve. But we don’t live like that.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Perhaps this can be a constructive thought. Buy a stun gun and/or strong pepper spray to arm your teen. Have them taught kyokushinkai karate. Instruct them to video secretly video record every encounter to maintain their innocents for when they kick some bully @$$.

I had to do this where more ghetto when I grew up.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

happens far too often in japan

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Exactly. What smith said

4 ( +11 / -7 )

what money issues could teenagers have with each other?

and i love the talking heads who assume that every juvenile case gets dismissed because of a payout by parents.

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Name them and let social justice be had.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

nakanoguy1 and Strangerland: "and i love the talking heads who assume that every juvenile case gets dismissed because of a payout by parents."

Show us where it doesn't.

"And you’re basing this on...?"

It happening a million times, in a nation that is VERY slow to change. I've seen with my very eyes -- bloody, bullied kids actually having to apologize to the BULLIES and shake hands, while the bully just kicks a desk if he or she has to do the same, and teachers accept it. There are a million articles on it, as well, but here's a bit just from a few:

"The law has prodded teachers to report bullying but it has done little to change how they deal with the problem. Bullies are rarely punished: in 2014 there were 188,057 reported cases and just two suspensions. The law also assumes that conformity is the way to stop bullying. It says teachers should “cultivate recognition…among students that they are part of a group”.

No one who bullied the kids from Fukushima in said article, save the teacher who made fun of one kid, were punished.

"The principal of the school in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, where a 13-year-old boy was repeatedly bullied before killing himself, on Saturday apologized for not taking action to prevent the tragedy."

No one was punished, including the bullies who led to the suicide.

And, lest we forget, the volleyball coach who has been kicking and bullying students into a successful team and as such encouraged by the school and board for years to continue (and that's a teacher and coach! not other kids):

"Startlingly, the coach will not be fired for the incident, though the school says he regrets his actions. Instead, he’ll be allowed to serve out his current contract until its end at the conclusion of the school year in spring (the school has said his contract will not be renewed). Matsushita also said that the attacks on the boy by his teammates “are not recognized as incidents of bullying” by the school, one of the more reprehensible denials of bullying in recent memory."

Anyway, I could go ahead and give you examples ALL day, literally, but I doubt you can give me even one where kids like these are punished with anything beyond a slap on the wrist.

4 ( +9 / -5 )

God that's just horrible.

And btw what are 15 year olds doing outside at 2 a.m.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Looking at pure evil. Punishment or no punishment, they need to be locked up in a secure institution and removed from society. For a very long time or at least they can properly assessed.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

This is a clear case of bullying. But since it isn't really seen as a big problem as it is seen as in other countries, SMITHINJAPAN said it best in his/her first top comment.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Speed

If I and a few others corned you on a bridge and threatened you and your family with extreme violence and wanted to make you jump, the dynamic of you being psychologically messed with and outnumbered and bullied is what is coming into effect.

Labeling the victim an idiot for jumping is pretty heartless, and yeah, stupid all around.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

The important lesson that Japanese kids are not being taught in school or in the home is JUST SAY NO to bullies in whatever guise they appear. It's time the people of this country grew a pair and started to oppose the overbearing authoritarian culture of obedience that has blighted their lives for centuries. Ganbare!

1 ( +6 / -5 )

This is sad that these teenagers put a girls family on the line and forced her to jump.

I wander how they would feel if someone put them on the line like they did to a another person.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

No to BULLYING. Parents are the teachers. How children behave reflects how their parents taught them. If not, make the bullies accountable for their actions.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

She should've told them all to take a hike and told her family about the threats. Beats jumping to a possible death. Stupid all around.

Don't blame the victim. She is only 15 years old. You always made right and wise decisions when you were 15 yo?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The way to stamp this out would be with a bullies register, like a Sex Offenders' register overseas. Five years for small offences, ten for ones like the above. It has to be done nationally to stop people (e.g. teachers) going to the next prefecture.

You get caught for ijime and any school or job you want to apply to can look it up. I can't believe any hard to enter school wants to accept kids that are bullies.

The way to stop bad behaviour is to create consequences for it. If being on a blacklist sounds bad, remember that in other countries the kids would be placed in a corrective institution for this.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Show us where it doesn't.

It's hard to find clear data, but according to the Ministry of Justice, over 3,000 juveniles were committed to correction facilities in 2013. I'm not sure where you get the idea that juveniles walk free from serious crimes such as this one.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

15 years old and left to roam around at 2 am ?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

They'll receive no punishment. The parents will pay some compensation money, and the bullies will fake-apologise and all of them forced to promise to cooperate. Then the bullying will continue, much worse.

And you’re basing this on...?

-1 ( +7 / -8 )

Posters above have asked hypothetically if I were a poor 15 year old who'd been bullied and confronted by two JHS girls would I jump. Hell no.

And yes, I've been "jumped" (excuse the expression) by dudes from elementary school on up.

I fought back and if they ever told me to jump off a 6 meter high bridge - once again, no I wouldn't. I'd slug one or all of them in the eye. At least I get the satisfaction of hitting them.

Once again, if I'm the girl in this article and a sister of a friend of mine whom I'm having some money problems with and one other girl threatens me and my family and tells me to jump off a bridge - no it wouldn't happen.

And no I'm not "heartless" for saying this. Jumping off a 6 meter bridge could easily get you killed. Unless I was physically thrown off that bridge, it wouldn't happen.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"If someone told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?"

She should've told them all to take a hike and told her family about the threats. Beats jumping to a possible death. Stupid all around.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Show us where it doesn't.

Your claim - the onus is on you to support it, otherwise we will all see your claim for being baseless.

It happening a million times, in a nation that is VERY slow to change. 

With a million examples, it should be very easy to show us some examples of your claims.

"The principal of the school in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, where a 13-year-old boy was repeatedly bullied before killing himself, on Saturday apologized for not taking action to prevent the tragedy."

We’re not talking about prevention, we’re talking punishment in cases like the one in the article.

I think it’s safe to say your claims were rhetoric and not based on the comparison of similar cases to see the results.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

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