crime

Man commits suicide in cell at police station in Tokyo

12 Comments

A man in his 30s who had been arrested on suspicion of theft committed suicide in his cell at Honjo police station in Tokyo late Saturday.

According to police, an officer found the man hanging in his cell at around 11:50 p.m. Saturday, Sankei Shimbun reported. The man had torn off part of his clothes to make a noose. He was taken to a hospital, where he was confirmed dead early Sunday.

According to reports, the man, whose name has not been released, was arrested on suspicion of theft on Dec 19.

Police said that when the officer patrolled the cells 10 minutes earlier, he saw nothing out of the ordinary with the detained man who was sitting in his cell.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

12 Comments
Login to comment

The (so-called) judge would have just rubber stamped a 10 day extension for the suspect,

Operative word "suspect". A system that can detain a suspect for 3 weeks without charge is shocking in what is supposed to be an advanced country.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

Police said that when the officer patrolled the cells 10 minutes earlier, he saw nothing out of the ordinary with the detained man who was sitting in his cell.

I thought Japanese jails were pretty strict about routine and order. I read on another article that someone posted that inmates go to bed early like 9PM and wake up at 7AM. The inmate would have been breaking the rules to physically be awake unless using the toilet or something.

A little suspicious!

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Now I wonder what he stole?

it should be too embarrassing to come out. otherwise, it isn’t making sense to me at all.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

@numan

Not a regular jail or prison, but a police station holding cell.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Tragic. The man may or not have been guilty of theft, and he is dead.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@wandelust

Not a regular jail or prison, but a police station holding cell.

Anything bigger than a police box has holding cells. All police stations have holding cells (jail). Jail is for detainment less than a year. Some police officer are specifically assigned as jailers. They never work outside of the police station just like prison guards. And they all have operating rules of order for prisoners. Those prisoners eat at the same time, wake up at the same time and bath once every 5 days. They also have a specific bedtime that everyone must follow. You can't just stay up until you get sleepy. It is not a sleep over!

The man had already been held for two days with 8 at least 20 more to go before committing suicide. He was in jail!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Poor fellow. How sad. There might be more to this story, but on the face of it it seems to be a tragic waste of his life. Life is a long time and being in his 30's there was plenty of time to turn things around and make a meaningful and happy life for himself. Sometimes you just gotta hang in there.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

@numan

A little suspicious!

Even more suspicious is the fact that the vast majority of prisoners do NOT commit suicide. Hmmm

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

With what did he cut off part of his clothing?

And where is the obligatory statement on his employment status?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Tragic. The man may or not have been guilty of theft, and he is dead.

Agreed.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

This so sad .

0 ( +1 / -1 )

A system that can detain a suspect for 3 weeks without charge is shocking in what is supposed to be an advanced country

In the US there have been cases of suspects being detained for up to three years without charges having been brought.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/nyregion/kalief-browder-held-at-rikers-island-for-3-years-without-trial-commits-suicide.html

Presumably that means the US is not an advanced country.

Except you left out that in the US, this is seen by officials as a problem that needs to be fixed, while in Japan it is acceptable.

2 ( +2 / -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