Police in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, said Saturday they have arrested a 17-year-old youth on suspicion of assaulting a 22-year-old man.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 3:35 a.m. Friday on a street in Chuo Ward, Kyodo News reported. The suspect is accused of repeatedly punching the victim, a university student, and stomping on his back.
A passerby saw the victim lying on the street and called 119. Police said the victim suffered severe facial injuries and remained unconscious on Saturday.
The suspect, who was intoxicated at the time of his arrest, has admitted attacking the victim but said he did not know him, police said, adding that they are questioning him further on what started the trouble.
© Japan Today
11 Comments
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toto_kiboko
How sad!
Redemption
Out at 3:35 am and drunk is not a good combination.
smithinjapan
So, he was not old enough to drink, thereby doing so illegally, and also beat someone near death. But hey, can't name him! Can't charge him! Japanese law needs to change so that people who clearly know what they are doing is wrong be properly punished. Seriously... they just going to say "tough luck" to the victim? Make the parents pay instead?
justasking
There are so many kids left to their own devices from elementary school and this is because no babysitting services in Japan, really. There are so many latch key kids in that country because multiple families do not live with one another anymore and so parents are stuck between going to work and leaving their kids alone after they enter elementary school.
Now with divorce matching other countries the situation has worsen.
James
Here in Japan it is...
business opportunity?
blue in green
I hope the victim recovers from his injuries.
His life is bound to be affected by this attack; hospital fees,
recuperating and loss of his study time, plus the mental and emotional trauma
of being randomly attacked on the street he felt safe on.
The kid that did this has issues as well.
Sending a prayer for the young man lying unconscious.
TaiwanIsNotChina
I think there are certain crimes that are so heinous that you don't get an automatic get out of jail card no matter what. In the US there is wide discretion in the adult system to reduce sentences and provide early parole, too.
Strangerland
But the poster in question wasn't giving any particular reasons that this kid should be charted as an adult other than that he feels the kid should be punished more. That's not a justifiable reason. There are very scientific and social reasons for having a distinction between child and adult crime.
TaiwanIsNotChina
I don't know what the injuries are, but if the victim was blinded or left in a coma, I could see it being a very serious violent offense. Having the ability to sue the perpetrator into oblivion would also help.
Kazuaki Shimazaki
That's the theory. I do, however, think that there should be more graduation placed on where this distinction can be used.
I think criminal law is better off being lenient to people up to age 25 (the age when they say the cortex usually is finally finished) over crimes where provocation or conflicting interests is a factor.
In exchange, for a clean cut case of malice like this seems to be, the age can be brought down, perhaps even to 6 if the case is simple enough. Or we can come up with another penalty for such cases that does not involve deprivation of liberty and a criminal record - such as them losing the automatic presumption to majority at 18. With that mistake in their file we are not confident he has the sense of responsibility et al required to exercise his dispositive civil capacity. He would have to prove he is worthy of being permitted such capacity.