Dentist stabbed to death in his clinic

The 50-year-old head of a dental clinic was stabbed to death by a 58-year-old patient at his clinic in Gifu, police said Saturday.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 2 p.m. Friday. Police said they received a call from an employee at the clinic, saying the dentist, Takao Fuchino, had been stabbed by a patient.

Fuchino was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead due to loss of blood from stab wounds to his neck and arms, police said.

The suspect, Nobuyuki Nagahama, was apprehended on a road about 200 meters from the clinic, Fuji TV reported. He was quoted by police as saying that he went to the clinic with the intention of killing the dentist.

Police said that Nagahama did not have an appointment but showed up at the clinic and demanded to see Fuchino. The two men went into a treatment room where Nagahama then attacked Fuchino. He left two bloodied knives at the scene.

There was one other patient and one employee in the clinic at the time but neither of them was injured, police said.

Police said that on Jan 18, Fuchino consulted with them about trouble he was having with Nagahama over his dental treatment but declined to file a complaint.

© Japan Today