Police have arrested a man for allegedly attempting to threaten and blackmail a 17-year-old boy who later committed suicide.
According to police, the Nagoya high school student committed suicide on Sept 27 by hanging himself on the rooftop of the apartment building in which he lived. TBS reported Wednesday that a police investigation revealed the boy had been emailed by 22-year-old Aichi resident Norihiro Horii, who allegedly threatened him and demanded 100,000 yen in cash. Acquaintances of the youth also testified that the boy came to school with bruises on his face three days before his death.
Police say it is likely Horii's threats were one of the reasons for the boy's suicide and that Horii is to be charged with attempted blackmail.
© Japan Today
17 Comments
Login to comment
Mirai Hayashi
THAT'S IT? What about child abuse? Assault? Extortion? I would even hold him 100% responsible for the boys death and seek a manslaughter charge.
CrazyJoe
The boy probably killed himself not because of the money but because he didn't want to get assaulted (beaten) again.
gelendestrasse
I'm sure more charges will follow but the perp should get life for this one. Sick.
jonobugs
I'm sure the authorities will charge him with whatever they can prove.
papasmurfinjapan
I doubt he demanded it for no reason either. I doubt the kid was picked out randomly for beating and blackmail as well. Something was going on between those two...
But yeah, in the end the kid was a victim of a crime... but come on, go and kill yourself over it? Really... grow some balls.
Tell your parents, go to the police, go to your principal, tell your mates at school, hell, get a baseball bat and threaten the guy back - but just wimper off and go and kill yourself? Sad..
Probie
I'd say it was actual blackmail, not "attempted".
naturalboke
I think it's attempted because he probably received no payment. I feel really sorry that no one got a chance to intervene and stop this getting to this stage.
IparryU
I doubt that 100,000 was the only thing that he demanded. Quite sure there is so much more in this case that won't get reviled. A quick confession and this will just be in the past, despite all the anti-bullying stuff this country is doing.
weisse
Japanese law is a joke,"Horii is to be charged with attempted blackmail." My heart sank after reading the charges.
dbsaiya
Ought to have a prison exchange program and have some of these scums in Japan go do some time in Folsom or San Quentin. Poor kid...
Disillusioned
I think there is a bit more to this than is printed here. What was his relationship with the boy and why did he single him out for the extortion?
Cos
No, they mention the email because that's the proof they have so far to arrest the perp. But surely he blackmailed him about something. Plus there was a beating. Maybe he was stalking him. And we say "he", but that might be a gang story.
Heza!
I pray for the boy who died, and may he find peace. I hope the people who have wronged this poor boy get punished.
Elbuda Mexicano
So Nagoya has bastard yakuza too?? RIP
DudeDeuce
Exactly, there had to be some relationship here instead of choosing a random high schooler. High schoolers aren't all that rich to be extorted for that amount of money.
RIP to the victim
combinibento
I disagree this man should be held culpable for the kid's suicide. Reading this article, I thought to myself "...Okaaaay, so he threatened the kid and demanded $1000...is that it? And the kid killed himself over it?!" Same goes for those kids around the world that kill themselves after being cyberbullied. I see how a death can be a remotely foreseeable result of emotional bullying, but the connection is too tenuous to hold someone liable for murder...
FizzBit
They should really do something to keep roof doors locked, especially in this country. Poor kid. Never had a chance to live.