Wakayama, Dec 18 (News On Japan) - The trial of a woman accused of urging two male followers to take their own lives opened on December 17th, with the defense arguing that she lacked criminal responsibility at the time and pleading not guilty.
The defendant, fortune-teller Yoshie Hamada, is accused of persuading two men who were her followers to commit suicide in the sea off Wakayama Prefecture five years ago, as well as forging a suicide note belonging to one of them.
At the first hearing, Hamada told the court that “a cosmic system carried out everything through my body,” while her lawyers said they did not dispute the basic facts of the case but insisted she was in a state of mental incapacity and therefore could not be held criminally responsible.
Prosecutors countered that discussions about suicide began after Hamada’s lover, who had been living with her, started trying to escape, and that the acts were driven by an attempt to destroy what she described as a “system” controlling the lover.
Two female followers were also arrested and indicted in connection with the case. One of them admitted that she had received instructions from Hamada to assist in the suicides and has already received a guilty verdict.
The case centers on the deaths of Kohei Teramoto, who was 66 at the time, and Ichiro Yoneda, then 51, who died by suicide in the sea in Wakayama Prefecture five years ago. Hamada, now 63, whom both men followed as a fortune-teller, has been charged with encouraging their suicides and related offenses.
During the December 17th hearing, Hamada stated, “The system program acted through my mouth and body,” and the defense again argued that she was mentally incapacitated at the time and therefore not criminally liable.
The eldest son of Teramoto said the family continues to struggle with anger and grief, adding, “I believe this incident was murder.”
In a related case, a female follower charged with assisting in the suicides has received a guilty verdict with a suspended sentence.
Source: YOMIURI
