Dec 31 (Japan Today) - Police in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, have arrested a 41-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after he stretched a rope across a narrow road, knocking a man off his motorcycle.
According to police, Koichi Deki, 41, a part-time employee, who was arrested on Saturday, has admitted to the charge and said he did it to relieve stress but insisted he had no intent to kill anyone, Fuji TV reported.
Street surveillance camera footage showed the suspect carrying a sign with a rope attached to it at around 3:35 a.m. on Dec 26. One end of the rope was attached to a pole by the side of the narrow road and the man placed the sign on the other side of the road. The rope was stretched across the road, about waist high.
The area was deserted at the time. Around 15 seconds later, a 45-year-old male motorcyclist was knocked off his bike and suffered a hip injury and minor injuries to his back.
Police said Deki, who lives in the neighborhood, had earlier taken the sign from the parking lot of a store. The store owner said he uses the sign and rope to keep cars from entering the parking lot after business hours.
