Ex-head of parents' group gets life term for Vietnamese girl murder in Japan

Jul 07, 2018 | News On Japan

Jul 07, 2018 (Kyodo) - A Japanese court sentenced the former head of a parents' group at an elementary school near Tokyo to life in prison on Friday over the 2017 murder of a 9-year-old Vietnamese girl who attended the school.

While Yasumasa Shibuya, 47, has denied involvement in the death of Le Thi Nhat Linh, the Chiba District Court ruled Shibuya can be recognized as the culprit as his DNA was found on the girl's body.

"The shock and worry (the defendant) brought upon society and school education is unimaginable," Presiding Judge Toshiro Nohara said in handing down the ruling.

But the court also rejected prosecutors' call for the death penalty, saying the murder of Linh was no more cruel than other crimes of similar nature for which culprits have been given life prison terms.

The lay judge trial's focus had been on how credible the police DNA tests are and whether a death sentence can be given in a case that resulted in only one death.

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