Jan 12 (rocketnews24.com) - During the day, Yakiniku GyuuGyuu was like any other Korean barbecue restaurant found all over Osaka Prefecture, serving prime cuts of meat for the customers to grill to their liking on open flames right at their tables. However, on some nights this yakiniku restaurant took a dark, B-Movie-esque turn for one of its employees.
The unidentified victim is reported to have endured a barrage of physical attacks over the course of months during 2017. On 10 January of this year, the shop’s 42-year-old owner Masao Mukai, his 26-year-old wife and employee, and 25-year-old manager were all arrested in connection with the three counts of assault and one count of causing bodily injury.
The first incident occurred in July of 2017 when the three suspects allegedly hit the 35-year-old victim in the face dozens of times with a piece of lumber. Another time involved pouring boiling hot water onto the man’s buttocks and thighs.
Also, in October of 2017 the threesome are charged with tying the victims hands together, placing a piece of tissue on a piece of wire, lighting it on fire, and then shoving it up the victim’s nose, causing burns.
But the most severe incident was when the three suspects allegedly used a “decorative†toy bowgun small enough to fire toothpicks into the victim’s face dozens of times. According to police, who confiscated the 10-by-12-centimeter (four-by-five-inch) gun, it was capable of firing toothpicks at speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour).
Although the victim had already resigned from the restaurant following the toothpick incident, his family contacted the police who led an investigation back to Yakiniku GyuuGyuu. Upon arresting Mukai, they checked his phone and found images of the victim with toothpicks embedded in his face.
