Japanese Man Given Death Sentence for Murdering Fellow Japanese in Thailand

[sriracha john]

Japanese man indicted for murder in Thailand

BANGKOK — Prosecutors in Thailand on Wednesday indicted a Japanese man for murdering and robbing a Japanese acquaintance last December. The suspect, who has identified himself to Thai police as Toshihiko Sasaki, but is believed by Japanese police to be 59-year-old Kengo Ikeda, was indicted on the charge of pre-meditated murder in connection with the death of Hiroshi Nakazono, 67.

Nakazono, a realtor from Tokyo who had regularly visited Pattaya over the years, went missing after entering Thailand on Dec. 14 with 3.47 million yen in cash, which he planned to deposit in a bank to be eligible for a long-stay visa, according to police. His body was found Dec 26 in Sattahip.

- Kyodo News (Japan)

[sriracha john]

Additional information excerpts from:

Japanese man indicted for murdering, robbing compatriot

The indictment contained additional charges of robbery and of hiding a corpse, the officials said. They said the suspect's trial will begin April 21.

The indictment was made in the name of Sasaki even though Thai authorities have been informed by Japanese police that he is really Ikeda, a Kanagawa Prefecture resident who is wanted in Japan on suspicion of counterfeiting a private seal.

According to Japanese officials, Ikeda left Japan for Thailand in November 2004 and took on the identity of Sasaki, a real person who went missing in Hokkaido after Ikeda departed Japan.

He was placed on a wanted list in 2005 on suspicion of signing a different person's name on an investigative record. His identity was confirmed through fingerprints, officials said.

The suspect, who has been held since Dec. 18, told reporters after his arrest that he knew nothing about Nakazono's death and that he was being framed by police.

He has told Thai police he has been living on personal savings in Thailand with a Thai girlfriend for about two years.

Closed-circuit TV at Bangkok international airport showed that the suspect was present with Nakazono on Dec. 14 after the victim arrived at the airport the same day, according to police.

- Associated Press

[sriracha john]

UPDATE... he's been convicted and given the death sentence...

Japanese man given death sentence for killing acquaintance in Thailand

BANGKOK — A Japanese man was sentenced to death Friday for killing a Japanese acquaintance in Thailand in December 2007.

Kengo Ikeda, 60, a native of Hokkaido Prefecture, suffocated to death Hiroshi Nakazono, 67, after robbing him of about 3 million yen in cash and his personal computer, and abandoned his corpse in the mountains, according to the ruling at a regional court in the eastern beach resort of Pattaya.

Ikeda identified himself to Thai police as Toshihiko Sasaki when he was arrested in Thailand in December last year.

Nakazono, a realtor from Tokyo who had regularly visited Pattaya earlier, went missing after entering Thailand on Dec 14, 2007 with 3.47 million yen in cash, which he planned to deposit in a bank to be eligible for a long-stay visa, according to Pattaya police.

His body was found Dec 26 in the Sattahip District.

According to Japanese officials, Ikeda left Japan for Thailand in November 2004 and took on the identity of Sasaki, a real person who went missing in Hokkaido after Ikeda departed Japan.

- Japan Today / 2009-03-28

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Japanese Man Given Death Sentence for Murdering Fellow Japanese in Thailand

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Edited March 28, 2009 by sriracha john

[neverdie]

Wow, I thought it had been many years since a foreigner had been executed in Thailand.

I guess there will be appeals about this, although death being reduced to 25 years would be worse than death in my humble opinion....for what its worth.

[wpcoe]

Was he given a death sentence in Thailand for murdering a fellow Japanese in Thailand, or

was he given a death sentence in Japan for murdering a fellow Japanese in Thailand?

I assumed it was the latter since the news source was a Japanese newspaper, but neverdie's comment makes it sound like the former.

[sriracha john]

PATTAYA COURT SENTENCES JAPANESE MURDERER TO DEATH

As an update to a previously reported case, PDN can confirm that on Friday 28th March a Japanese man was sentenced to death for the murder of his friend Hiroshi Nakazono. The body of Mr. Nakazono (67) was found dumped in Sattahip on 26th December 2007. His hands and feet had been cut off.

In the Pattaya district court, Mr. Kengo Ikeda (60), a native of Hokkaido Prefecture, was convicted of abandoning the corpse of his victim after suffocating him to death and robbing him of about 3 million yen in cash and his personal computer.

Ikeda had identified himself to Thai police as Toshihiko Sasaki when he was arrested in Thailand in December last year (2008). According to Japanese officials, Ikeda left Japan for Thailand in November 2004 and took on the identity of Sasaki, a real person who was reported missing in Hokkaido after Ikeda left the country.

Ikeda’s victim, a realtor from Tokyo who had regularly visited Pattaya, went missing after entering Thailand on 14th December 2007 with 3.47 million yen in cash, which he’d planned to deposit in a bank to be eligible for a long-stay visa, according to Pattaya police. CCTV footage at the airport had recorded Ikeda as he picked up the victim in a rented car, which was the last time Mr. Nakazono was seen alive.

- Pattaya Daily News / 2009-03-28

[sriracha john]

Was he given a death sentence in Thailand for murdering a fellow Japanese in Thailand, or

was he given a death sentence in Japan for murdering a fellow Japanese in Thailand?

I assumed it was the latter since the news source was a Japanese newspaper, but neverdie's comment makes it sound like the former.

The former.

[sassienie]

My Uncle killed 37 Japanese back in 1944 and he received a medal.

[Artisi]

Swift justice, pity the same isn't applied to Thai's who murder foreingers - especially the couple of recent cases where off-duty police have cold bloodly murdered tourists.