crime

2 men arrested over fatal assault of restaurant manager

9 Comments

Two men have been arrested in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, on suspicion of killing a restaurant manager because they got irritated over the slow service.

According to police, the trouble occurred between 11:15 p.m. on Dec 21 and 1:40 a.m. on Dec 22 at a Japanese chanko nabe restaurant, Fuji TV reported. The two men, Keiji Hamano, 46, and Kazuya Seki, 45, were attending a bonenkai (company year-end party) with some friends in a private dining room of the restaurant.

Just after 9 p.m., the men complained to a waiter about the slow service and asked him to get the manager, Shinji Itooka, 60. Itooka, who was at another establishment, arrived around 11 p.m. Hamano and Seki berated Itooka about the slow service and his employee’s attitude.

The suspects then punched Itooka in the face and kicked him in the back. They also hit him with a cooking pot.

A worker at a restaurant nextdoor heard what sounded like a fight and went to see what was going on. After seeing the front door damaged, he called police. Hamano, Seki and the group they were with left the restaurant.

When police arrived, Itooka was lying unconscious in the private dining room. He was taken to hospital where he died at around 4:20 a.m. due to damage to his lungs. His ribs had also been broken.

Police detained the two suspects for questioning on Thursday and arrested them on Friday. Police said they have admitted to the charge and quoted Seki as saying they didn’t like Itooka’s attitude toward the way his restaurant staff served customers.

© Japan Today

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9 Comments
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couldn’t they have just left if the service was slow ?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Broken ribs?

the manager must have received a kicking whilst on the ground.....

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Do yakuza gangs have company year-end parties?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

2 broken rips could not indicate a kick if adjacent, ribs are easily broken from strikes. Had my share of broken collarbone, fractured ankle and brown/cracked ribs.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

agree with @pacint. had two broken ribs, couldn't sleep for weeks and took more than 4 months to heal. alcohol causes big changes in japanese, be careful folks.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

So the service was slow so it was alright to beat the manager to death? And no one called an ambulance, the thugs and their workmates all ran away and left him to die. I hope they get arrested too.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I broke my ribs after a motorcycle accident. ( not my fault I’ll add )

Hurt like hell. Couldn’t find any comfortable position. Certainly couldn’t lie down.

Got zero sleep.

Not nice at all.

These two rats deserve time in the can.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

So, you two have had experience of having had ribs broken in violent attacks?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Yakuza. Wanted "Protection" money.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

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