A 46-year-old man who was arrested after stabbing four relatives, one of whom died, will undergo a psychiatric evaluation for three months to determine if he can be held criminally responsible for his actions.
Chiba prefectural prosecutors said they will determine whether to try Motomu Oda based on the findings of the psychiatric tests, Sankei Shimbun reported Saturday.
The incident occurred at around 7 p.m. on May 13 in an izakaya (Japanese-style pub) in Inage Ward, Chiba City. Oda was seated with his younger sister, her husband and their two daughters, aged 6 and 1. Witnesses said Oda started arguing with the family about 10 minutes after they entered the izakaya.
He pulled out a knife and started stabbing the group. The six-year-old girl, Ayumi Takagi, sustained a fatal knife wound to her lungs, while her father, 44, and mother 42, received multiple injuries. The 1-year-old girl suffered minor injuries to her head and face.
Oda, a former Chiba city assembly member who now lives in Okinawa, remained in the izakaya after the attack. Police said that he brought the knife with him. He has refused to answer any questions and has been rambling incomprehensibly since his arrest, prosecutors said.
© Japan Today
12 Comments
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AgentX
Just gonna leave that one hang there like that. Nuff said.
Mirai Hayashi
I think we can safely assume that anyone who does this is insane...so what's the point? So he can plea insanity...sorry he needs to be put away because he obviously poses a huge danger to society.
Strangerland
I'd bet good money that the conclusion was drawn without any knowledge of how the system works, nor any psychiatric background whatsoever. Just a random attack on psychiatrists without knowing how the job works, why it would take three months, and whether or not that's a reasonable amount of time.
Strangerland
Not necessarily. If he was in the throes of paranoid psychosis he could have been carrying a knife for whatever reason his mind dreamed up.
Kaishu
@BertieWooster
And your comment shows your lack of understanding of the 'psychiatric industry'.
It is a three month assessment to see whether he can be help criminally responsible. What do you expect, a quick 5 minute questionnaire?
BertieWooster
This really points up the total incompetence of the psychiatric industry.
THREE MONTHS to find out whether he can be held responsible for murder!
Do the hustle
I think his mental instability has already be proven, but the fact he brought the knife with him shows intent and he is liable.
Michael Jackson
He was stabbing little babies in the face he deserves to drop
Michael Jackson
Don't get wrapped around the wheel about mental illness etcetera of course he's mentally ill if he's stabbing people but he can still be held criminally liable
Michael Jackson
All all they have to prove to make him criminally liable is whether he knew right from wrong when he committed those Acts