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Relatives of Sri Lankan detainee who died at immigration center to sue gov't

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Good.

5 ( +22 / -17 )

Yes do it. Unfortunately if they even win at all they will pay only some small measly amount. The main problem needs to be addressed! There is no accountability or reforms in the immigration facilities, so this type of abuse will continue hidden.

8 ( +23 / -15 )

Official ignore her request to meet with outside doctor after she complained she can not swallowed her drink.

Even the day she died, they even didn't make emergency call. There plenty failure there.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-immigration/Japan-immigration-center-mistreated-Sri-Lankan-before-her-death-probe

11 ( +23 / -12 )

Relatives of a Sri Lankan woman who died last year while detained at a central Japan immigration center will file a damages suit against the Japanese government later this week, a source familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

Tort law in Japan is farcical in the damages it awards to victims. Blatantly protective of government and corporate interests.

Say what you will about "excessive" damage awards in the West; they are punitive is some cases and cause a change in policy that is of benefit to the public.

0 ( +15 / -15 )

It’s heartbreaking that a woman died so young in detention in a foreign land. Only if she had gone straight home when her student visa expired instead of challenging the deportation order. It seems that her family is driven not just by grief but also by greed.

-17 ( +13 / -30 )

Admirable; but it won’t make a blind bit of difference to the Japanese.

1 ( +16 / -15 )

excellent news! name and shame!

0 ( +18 / -18 )

Nasty, J-Gov., nasty.

Grow a pair, be candid, and show some compassion.

Overstaying isn't a capital offence.

-4 ( +13 / -17 )

I wonder if all International people in Japan can do a Class Action LawSuit regarding this case?

A lawsuit is a civil legal action by one person or entity against another person or entity, to be decided in a court.

Depending on the remedy sought and the venue where the plaintiff files the lawsuit, the case might be heard by a court of law or a court of equity.

Any lawyers out there?

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

Good move. Those people are really inhuman who let her die.

Looking forward to see if c ourt of law n equality really exists?

1 ( +8 / -7 )

So let me get this straight. She came to Japan under false pretenses, then she broke the law by overstaying her visa, then she unfortunately passed due to her string of bad choices and then her family wants some reparations and other 'gibs'. What's with the sense of entitlement of some? Fortunately here is not the west and the case will certainly be dismissed by any judge.

-10 ( +12 / -22 )

regardless nationality just put yourself in position of that detainee and her relatives now.

this story need get as much publicity as possible as main problem is ancient system that is is effect here for decades.

this is just top of iceberg.

i wish good luck to family with court an hope that this may bring some much needed change in this ancient immigration system here when some foreigners are treated as human rubish!

2 ( +10 / -8 )

Im not even surprised. Japanese government so corrupt here. Their more concerned about keeping the roads maintained then rising poverty.

-3 ( +11 / -14 )

So let me get this straight. She came to Japan under false pretenses, then she broke the law by overstaying her visa, then she unfortunately passed due to her string of bad choices and then her family wants some reparations and other 'gibs'. What's with the sense of entitlement of some?

Yes, she rightfully deserved to die for this, without trial, right?

 

...right?

5 ( +16 / -11 )

It’s unlikely to go to court. They will be handed a paper bag full of hush money and this mistreatment will never be heard about again.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

There is a very different concept of basic civil and human rights in Japan, so any time spent in detention in the country can be very harsh and cruel. There have been many firsthand accounts of foreigners in detention, including by people like Frenchman Mark Karpeles (former CEO of Mt. Gox in Japan), which show the prevalence of some pretty inhumane treatment. He spent a year in detention in Tokyo during which time he lost 77 pounds. He has described his time in detention as a “nightmare” and told CNN, "I wouldn't want this on anyone. Not my worst enemy, not even humanity's worst enemy" . Karpeles said he was forced to sit upright in a corner for some ten hours a day. If guards caught him slouching or napping, they would shout through the door. Once, when he failed to comply, he was taken to the padded "punishment room" where his hands were tied behind his back and he was kept on the floor for several hours. Japan really ought to reevaluate some of its practices, which make it a outlier among the developed world. The country needs some serious reform so it can can bring itself inline with global standards.

-3 ( +8 / -11 )

Good. If nothing else, hopefully this will shine a light on the corruption and incompetency of the Japanese immigration system and force the Japanese government to do something to make sure such cases never occur again.

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

Overstay in Japan and get treated worse than someone on death row, killed without a trial

She wasn't killed, she died of an illness that could've been treated promptly had she not broken the laws or her host country

Yes, she rightfully deserved to die for this, without trial, right?

No, she didn't. Her death was unfortunate but the consequences of her own actions.

Japanese and foreigners alike know how terrible detention and prision is in this country that's why most people are advised to avoid troubles with the law. If she had just followed that simple advise she would probably still be alive.

-5 ( +6 / -11 )

If you're ever in Japan

Well, you better do right

You better not gamble

There, you better not fight, Lord

Or the police will grab ya'

And the boys will bring you down

The next thing you know, boy

Whoa, you're prison bound

0 ( +4 / -4 )

This is why the Government should make it a priority to deport visa violators immediately rather than keeping them in detention centers for months and even years!

6 ( +9 / -3 )

RataToday  09:09 am JST

So let me get this straight. She came to Japan under false pretenses, then she broke the law by overstaying her visa, then she unfortunately passed due to her string of bad choices and then her family wants some reparations and other 'gibs'. What's with the sense of entitlement of some? Fortunately here is not the west and the case will certainly be dismissed by any judge.

Your comment like many of yours are inhumane,cold and disgusting.

Justice should be serve,not only compensation but also we want the perpetrators of this homicide to be trailed and imprisoned.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

The Japanese want to partake of the economic freedoms in the world, yes?

Well, if they do then the standards that are the norm have to be applied and that means

‘fair treatment’ for foreigners living in Japan.

I disagree that this will not impact Japan.

It will and rightly so…

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

The tragedy is apparent, the circumstances are not ,- basely most of the assumptions which simply are tag lines ignore the actual events, a complex set of affairs which unfolded over a period of years.

The woman overstayed her student visa. Was offered an opportunity to return to Sri Lanka, which she accepted and then refused. She was attending a language school, not a university.

Whatever liability incurred by immigration, the entirety could have been avoided - simply blaming immigration with a blanket accusation of mistreatment of detainees, ignores the events that preceded her detainment. She remained illegally in the country for almost 18 months - before 'turning' herself in to immigration due to alleged abuse by her boyfriend. The case and its consequent outcome are complex and complicated and raise numerous questions about Immigration and Sandamali. After she turned herself in to immigration, she was placed on a waiting list for a return flight to Sri Lanka by Japanese Immigration officials and the Sri Lankan Embassy, along with providing financial assistance. She then changed her mind indicating she wished to remain in Japan. She had already been denied refugee status almost a year prior. What is of interest is that she was seeking refugee status, but her family members, who travel freely do not seem to reflect any need for such.

The Immigration Services Agency of Japan on Aug. 10 released its final investigative report into the death of Wishma Sandamali, who died at an immigration facility in Nagoya in March.

Sandamali came to Japan in June 2017 on a 15-month student visa. She attended a Japanese language school in Chiba Prefecture.

She stopped attending classes in May 2018, and the school expelled her the following month.

The report said she started working at a factory in Shizuoka Prefecture after April and filed an application for refugee status in September that same year.

But her application was denied in January 2019. Her stay in the country became illegal.

In August 2020, she turned herself in to a police station in the prefecture, saying that her lover drove her out and she had no place to go. She was arrested for overstaying her visa and was detained at a facility run by the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau.

She wanted to return to Sri Lanka, but she could not obtain a commercial flight, due to disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Immigration officials along with the Sri Lankan Embassy put her on a waiting list for a return flight and sought to financially help her to fly back to her home country.

But suddenly in mid-December, she changed her mind and said she wanted to remain in Japan.

Sandamali filed applications for provisional release twice. The first was rejected on Feb. 16 and the second was filed six days later.

A psychiatrist who saw Sandamali on March 4 wrote in a medical report that she would get well if she received provisional release status.

But it was not relayed to top officials of the Nagoya bureau.

Authorities considered granting it based on her deteriorating health and the increasing burden on detention officers to take care of her. They decided on March 5 to release her provisionally after her condition improved.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@El Rata I see nothing wrong with your comment. Every country has laws and those who enter the country MUST AND SHOULD obey those laws. The unfortunate happened and the tax paying people should not pay for some one who enter a country and overstayed their visa!!! Had she not did this there would be no conversation or law suit!!!

So let me get this straight. She came to Japan under false pretenses, then she broke the law by overstaying her visa, then she unfortunately passed due to her string of bad choices and then her family wants some reparations and other 'gibs'. What's with the sense of entitlement of some? Fortunately here is not the west and the case will certainly be dismissed by any judge.

Your comment like many of yours are inhumane,cold and disgusting.

Justice should be serve,not only compensation but also we want the perpetrators of this homicide to be trailed and imprisoned.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Unfortunate that she died, but her own actions put her in that position. She made her own bed. If she had been deported immediately, there would be complaints about lack of due process.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

OK, so she broke the law by overstaying her visa. But many Japanese, and Japanaphiles seem to miss a very basic point. While she was in detention on Japanese soil, under Japanese jurisdiction, Japan has a duty of care.

Sadly, Japans lamentable rule of law just does not even grasp elementary principles. Don't expect too much from Japans imbecile judges who don't even know their own countries constitution.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

now their 4 family members are here with working visa!!!!! ha ha ha what a situation? She overstayed and tried to undermine the refugee system ... Giving fake application.. Refused to go back own country......

She should have gone to China instead of Japan...

And got this tragedy and bring her four relatives and SUE China!!!!! Will that happen????

Because this is Japan..... any one can play any game.....

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

El rata:

Japanese and foreigners alike know how terrible detention and prision is in this country that's why most people are advised to avoid troubles with the law. If she had just followed that simple advise she would probably still be alive.

Man, she just needed a good normal person who could call an ambulance on time and bring her a doctor, or take her to hospital.

Are you ever sober to re-read what you just wrote?? What a bunch of fascist comments we can read all over these sections. They compare Japan to china or North Korea. What I am reading?? Holy moly....

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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