Jun 16 (Kyodo) - The father of a 9-year-old Vietnamese girl allegedly killed by a male neighbor near Tokyo in 2017 demanded capital punishment at a court hearing on Friday.
Le Anh Hao, the 35-year-old father of Le Thi Nhat Linh, said at the Chiba District Court, "Linh said she wanted to become a bridge between Japan and Vietnam. I cannot forgive the killer."
According to the indictment, Yasumasa Shibuya, the 47-year-old former head of a parents' association at the girl's school, bundled Linh into his car on the morning of March 24, 2017, and sexually assaulted her before strangling her and abandoning her body near a drainage ditch in the city of Abiko, Chiba Prefecture.
Shibuya has pleaded not guilty, saying the prosecutors' claims are fictitious and fabricated. He has denied any involvement in the case.
Hoping that his daughter would connect the two countries, Hao said he picked Nhat and Linh for her name, meaning Japan and shine, respectively.
Source: ANNnewsCH
