crime

Ex-worker at nursing home, jailed for killing 83-year-old resident, has sentence reduced by 2 years

7 Comments

The Tokyo High Court has upheld an appeal for a reduction in prison time by a former caregiver at a nursing home, who was sentenced to 16 years for killing an 83-year-old resident at the facility in 2017.

The high court reduced the Tokyo District Court sentence by two years, accepting the defense appeal that the defendant, Hisashi Minakawa, 28, was stressed out at the time of the crime, Sankei Shimbun reported.

According to the ruling, the killing took place early on the morning of Aug 22, 2017, at the nursing home in Nakano Ward. Minakawa was charged with strangling Kan Fujisawa, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, and placing the unconscious victim in a bathtub which he then filled with hot water. The cause of death was drowning.

Minakawa was on a night shift with another worker on the night of the homicide but alone with Fujisawa in the bathing facility. After his arrest, Minakawa told police he couldn’t stand it anymore after Fujisawa repeatedly wet his bed.

Prior to his arrest he had told the police he found the victim dead after he was away tending an emergency call within the nursing home. But there was no record of such a call, according to the police.

Minakawa quit his job at the facility in late September 2017.

© Japan Today/Kyodo

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

7 Comments
Login to comment

"Stressed" that an 83 year-old wets the bed?

FFS...

7 ( +7 / -0 )

JP courts hand down another ridiculously light sentence for a heinous crime, and then make it even lighter.

TIJ, I guess.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Because why not, right? The law and government probably calculated how much the guy saved them in pension by murdering an old person and reduced his sentence according, plus a winter bonus.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

2yrs??? What a shame. He should have at least 20 yrs.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The high court reduced the Tokyo District Court sentence by two years, accepting the defense appeal that the defendant, Hisashi Minakawa, 28, was stressed out at the time of the crime

Does that mean I'll get a lesser jail sentence if I said I was stressed out?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites