Shimizu Taishi
Fraud-ring leader gets death penalty
Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 17:13 EDT
CHIBA — The Chiba District Court sentenced the leader of a billing-fraud ring to death and a group member to life imprisonment Tuesday over the deaths of four other group members in 2004 following infighting. Judge Takanori Hikosaka gave the death sentence to Taishi Shimizu, 28, and life imprisonment to Junichi Watanabe, 30.
Prosecutors had argued that Shimizu and Watanabe, in conspiracy with other group members, intentionally killed three of four group members and that the fourth man died as a result of violence by the defendants. The prosecutors had argued that Shimizu and Watanabe, in conspiracy with Ito, Ata and Sagiya, confined the four members of the ring in a building in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward and killed three of them by beating them with baseball bats and pouring hot water on them in October 2004. (Kyodo News)
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Fraudster must hang for killings; cohort gets life
CHIBA (Kyodo) The Chiba District Court sentenced the leader of a billing-fraud ring to death and a group member to life in prison Tuesday over the slayings of four other members in 2004 during internal strife.
Presiding Judge Takanori Hikosaka gave the death sentence to Taishi Shimizu, 28, and sentenced Junichi Watanabe, 30, to life.
The judge said Shimizu's "criminal responsibility is extremely serious" as he played the leading role in the killings.
Prosecutors had argued that Shimizu and Watanabe, in conspiracy with other members, intentionally killed three members of the ring and alleged that a fourth died at the hands of the defendants. They had demanded the death penalty for both Shimizu and Watanabe.
Both pleaded not guilty, claiming they were not directly involved in the killings and had never conspired with other members.
In May, the same three-judge panel sentenced another member, Reo Ito, 33, to death and two others to life in prison, finding them guilty in the murder of two of the victims.
The two defendants sentenced to life then were Shinya Ata and Teruyuki Sagiya. The prosecutors had demanded capital punishment for Ito and Ata, and a life term for Sagiya.
The victims were killed because they tried to steal some of the money Shimizu's group had swindled, according to the prosecutors.
The defendants buried the four bodies in an empty lot in Ibaraki Prefecture.
The Japan Times: Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007
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