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A family court in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, has ruled that a boy in his late teens, who was arrested in February on suspicion of killing his 3-year-old sister, be sent to a reformatory.
The boy, whose age hasn’t been released, underwent three months of psychiatric tests to determine if he was mentally fit to be tried, Kyodo News reported. The psychiatric evaluation ended on May 30, with the conclusion that he was responsible for his actions. Prosecutors then decided to send him to the family court.
The boy was arrested after his sister fell to her death from the sixth-floor balcony of a municipal housing complex just before 9 a.m. on Feb 8. A passerby called police and reported that a girl was lying on the ground outside the apartment building. The child was taken to hospital where she died about 90 minutes later.
Police said that the boy admitted throwing his sister from the balcony and quoted him as saying, “Although my memory is fuzzy, I did it.”
The boy and his sister lived with their parents. The children’s mother was home at the time but told police she was not aware that anything had happened until she looked for her daughter.
© Japan Today
17 Comments
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Seigi
There should be no mercy for someone who can kill a helpless little girl.
Yubaru
No, it's because he was not "considered" an adult at the time of the incident. Since April ALL 18 year old's are considered, by law, to be adults.
If he had committed the crime after April 1st, 2022, his name would have been released publicly.
Speed
It would be nice if they executed him in the "reformatory."
shogun36
did they really need 3 months to figure this out? Just lock him up already. In REAL jail. Or are they just letting him slide till the next victim?
Daninthepan
Even kids know to use the "My memory was fuzzy"-defence.
Steve
Wow!
another story like this first thing in the morning!
DOEL HARRY
SO SAD ....
John-San
The only reason for not releasing his name is because he was old enough to know what he was doing but under 20 years of age.
Seesaw7
He is jealous of attention given to his sister by his parents.
kaimycahl
Wow here we are making judgements based on poor information as highlighted. "A family court in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, has ruled that a boy in his late teens, who was arrested in February on suspicion of killing his 3-year-old sister, be sent to a reformatory". The report never said the boy was convicted, it just said suspicion followed by arrested even though he admitted it with a fuzzy thought.
Again fuzzy reporting "The boy, whose age hasn’t been released, underwent three months of psychiatric tests to determine if he was mentally fit to be tried. Here the results never said he was mentally ill!! The results per Kyodo News reported. The psychiatric evaluation ended on May 30, with the conclusion that he was responsible for his actions. LMFAO my question did the evaluation conclude he was proven to be mentally ill???? LMFAO Prosecutors then decided to send him to the family court. Totally confused!!!
blahblah222
I would not trust the Japan courts. Most convictions are based on coerced confessions with no evidence required to convict someone.
smithinjapan
He just can't possibly be held responsible because he hasn't reached the legal age of 20 to be held fully accountable. That one second between 11:59 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. on the day of your birth, even if you born at a different time (which everyone is), is when you are suddenly and truly an adult, mentally and physically. Not one second before. Ergo, it is good that he is being sent to a reformatory for murdering his sister and not actual prison. Just look at him admit his memory of the whole thing is fuzzy! Surely an adult would remember it clearly. It's obviously not this little boy's fault.
Japantime
In Japan there are a lot of coerced confessions. This seems like an example of that. It might have been an accident. I see kids climbing on a balcony every day.
Masamune
Posters...Please keep a proper perspective of things.
The young man may have been raised by a dysfunctional family....It causes fuzzy interpretations of life and wrong choices by the boy.
I would never hurt people of any age other than a fly or a pill bug....I guess I put the human race in the same category....well...wings will be pulled off and the rocks will be flying above them like missiles.
I did that as a child....They were my toys. Think “Putin!"
Rodney
Either mental problems or an accident. Give him a plot of land in Hokkaido and teach him how to grow potatoes