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After the courts ordered Nepali Govinda Prasad Mainali to be freed last year after 15 years in prison for a wrongful conviction of the murder of a prostitute, his attorneys petitioned the Tokyo district court to compensate him for confinement on false charges. The attorneys demanded the maximum possible compensation for the 5,500 days he spent behind bars.
On Feb 6, the court awarded him the amount of 68 million yen, the maximum allowable under the law. Writing in Shincho 45 (July), Mariko Hasegawa isn't sure if that should be considered generous or not.
To see how he was getting along, Hasegawa traveled to Katmandu in late February for a three-month sojourn. "I wanted to hear about how he endured imprisonment and how he felt after returning home, but it was a struggle for him to get it out," she writes.
Last Nov 7, Govinda gave a press conference attended by about 100 members of the Japanese media, but he himself didn't have much to say. With few exceptions, he has refused to meet with journalists one-on-one, and has not permitted himself to be photographed except at the press conferences.
When Hasegawa confronted him about charging $300 per print for photos of him with his family, Govinda gave a bitter smile. But he openly discussed his experiences with her.
"The police determined on their own that I was the criminal and forced me to put my signature on the deposition," he blurted out to Hasegawa. "They stepped on my feet, grabbed me by the lapels and ripped my clothes. The prosecutor burned me with a lit cigarette."
"While in prison, the guards would spit out at me, 'You're an evil man who raped a Japanese woman, killed her, and stole her money.' Those words hurt me more than being beaten. I still can't get them out of my head. I lost the best years of my life. And I'll never forget the bastards who did this to me!"
"While I was in prison, I lost most of my hair, and what little remains has turned white. Hasegawa-san, the next time you come to Nepal, will you bring me a wig?" he asked her.
Mainali had been handsome when he was young. He was a popular with customers at the Indian restaurant where he worked, and a Japanese female even proposed marriage to him.
In the summation at his first trial, his attorney had said, "The defendant is a Brahmin, a member of the highest Hindu caste, and from his family environment, economic situation, religion and upstanding character, it is unthinkable that he would murder and rob someone.
"He took his meals at his workplace and carried home leftovers to eat on his day off to save money. Aside from his rent and utilities, he was able to live for about 20,000 yen per month."
Perhaps in an attempt to make up for those years of deprivation and imprisonment, Govinda has splurged the equivalent of 9.8 million Japanese yen on a shiny new Toyota Fortuna RV, a model used in Nepal by government ministers, which carries an import duty of 243%. After outlays of some 37 million yen for a new 6LDK house for his family, it's estimated he still has a remaining balance of around 21 million yen, earning him about 150,000 yen a month in income at the current interest rate. In a country where the average monthly income is equivalent to 5,000 Japanese yen, this should allow him to maintain a comfortable life for himself and his family.
He's also thinking in terms of philanthropic activities.
"I want to do something that only I can do," he says. "There are many Nepalese doing time in foreign prisons. Some of them are there due to a miscarriage of justice, like I was. So I'd like to start up an NGO to give them support, and perhaps seek donations for them in Japan."
Govinda also published a book, with a first edition print run of 2,000 copies. Selling for 350 rupees (about 385 yen), it does not appear to be in great demand.
The media's attention shifts rapidly, and now that the matter of compensation has been settled, interest in Mainali as a tragic hero seems to be waning rapidly. In Hasegawa's words, he's gradually becoming a thing of the past.
© Japan Today
22 Comments
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Graham DeShazo
Except to those of us who remember how he was forced to confess, and then served 15 years of his life for a crime that he did not commit because of an inept or corrupt legal system. This case serves as more evidence, as if any was needed in the first place, for the video-recording of all interogations. It also cries out for Judges to engage their brains and question confessions when clear forensic evidence is lacking.
I especially love the part where the Ministry of Justice meekly paid him the maximum amount to go away, but nobody, not the prosecutor, judge, nor the dectives have publicly apollgized. That is shameful.
Frungy
... Where are the arrests? The police officers, the prosecutors and the prison guards all deserve to be arrested and tried for their crimes of assault.
We have a complainant who has never committed a crime in Japan stated his case publically... so why are these people walking free? Are the Japanese police, prosecutors and prison guards above the law? Because that's what it looks like.
Virtuoso
It's good to see that a Japanese-language publication ran this story. Actually Shinchosha, Shincho 45's publisher, has consistently supported Govinda's innocence for years.
Christopher Smith
Where can we buy his book?
Virtuoso
I think it's only available in Nepalese.
Meguroman
Every time you hear Japanese tout the high conviction rate the police have here - take it with a HUGE grain of salt. How many others have been convicted falsely and are currently in prison here? We will never know. If I were that guy Id charge every Japanese reporter to speak to me, too and Id never set foot here again. Two things I don`t have happen to me here - go to jail for anything or require emergency medical care.
Christopher Smith
Thanks for the response Virtuoso.
ThonTaddeo
If his book were available in English or Japanese, at 385 yen I'd very gladly buy it.
Also, regarding "he still has a remaining balance of around 21 million yen, earning him about 150,000 yen a month in income at the current interest rate" -- that's a very high interest rate he's receiving in Nepal. I hope that doesn't mean that the Nepalese rupee is suffering from an inflation rate so high that the value of his savings will be eaten up. This man deserves to never have to work another day in his life.
Pukey2
I find it disgusting (though not surprising) that those criminals responsible for setting this man up are still free to do this to other unsuspecting members of the public. I still can't see how the justice system here is any better than that of China.
oginome
He's not necessarily a good man just because he was the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice, he solicited prostitutes and cheated on his wife back home, I agree he deserves an apology, but let's not make him into some sort of sainted martyr figure please.
nedinjapan
The root of this false accusation is a Stupid Police Force that is not qualified for Detective work, because they have very low IQs as well as bad training. I have suggested many times they should be asked at least to watch Colombo, the whole series, just to get an idea of what it means to use your wits to find the actual criminal. Japanese police is not capable, and so to save face commits any hideous act to get a confession from anyone they get their hands on. They trick, they torture, they tell lies and they act like criminals themselves. One reason is that they are recruited from among the very ordinary, they mostly receive training to use standard procedures, and they are taught not to Think but to follow Procedures. Police in Japan needs a full overhaul, as well as the legal system that relies only on biased police reports.
Ravi Tandukar
This man deserves a better justice. The police and the judges who destroyed his life need to be brought to punishment. Only then can the full justice is complete. Is there such an avenue in Japan at all?
tmarie
Well said Oginome. What happened to this guy is criminal but let's not forget he was cheating and sleeping with prostitutes. He certainly didn't deserve what he got but the guy is hardly a saint.
That being said, yes, why haven't charges been laid against those who beat him and forced him to confess??
nath
Sleeping with a prostitute isn't a crime. Neither is adultery. Totally irrelevant to this story. Who would pass a character test flawlessly? Certainly no one I know, present company included.
tmarie
Actually, paying for sex is a crime. Prostitution isn't legal in this country. Plenty of folks also don't cheat on their spouse. I think those who haven't done any of the three would pass a character test based on the above.
oginome
Exactly, tmarie. He's not a saint, no matter how the non-Japanese media try and portray him. That's not to say he doesn't deserve his apology and compensation, but it's important to be balanced and not get carried away with painting him in the most positive light possible. To me, I don't find him that likeable, he cheated on his wife, he knew the prostitute who was found murdered because he'd paid for her services before, and he just strikes me overall as quite a callous, unsavoury figure to be honest. Using the high standing he has in the Hindu caste system by his defence lawyer also shows he buys into that discriminatory mindset. Hope his book does well but I won't be buying it.
BurakuminDes
I hope one day the corrupt thugs (AKA Japanese police) who stitched up this innocent man due to their own laziness and incompetence are imprisoned. Won't happen, though - I bet they all retired on full pensions, though. I hope poor Mr. Mainali can have positive experiences for the rest of his life.
kwatt
Japan compensated him 68 million yen for 15 years imprisonment, I just wonder if other countries would pay that money if same thing happened in other countries,,, or if already executed.
Pukey2
Somehow, I think even his wife thinks he's suffered more than enough.
The point is not whether he used pros or not, but whether someone should be stitched up for something they didn't do. The next victim may actually be a loving husband and father. It could even be YOU!
Over Tour
I feel sorry for this guy as no amount of money will heal his mental anguish, guys be carefull of these love girls who let you into their rooms for flings just be carefull coz you may not be the only one who goes there, some pple are good at setting other pple up.
toshiko
@kwatt: You asked other country. Check records of USA false arrests and amounts of each compensations beside arrests of corrupted polices and prosecutors.. Too many?
Brian Wheway
Unfortunately no matter how much compo this guy gets, it will never make up for those lost and precious moments with your children, the first day at school, comforting them when they have just split up from there boy/girl friend, or getting married, the list goes on, now that he's accepted this pay out, can he still sue the government? I bet he's had to sign for the money and also agreeing not to take the matter any further.