IBARAKI - A woman arrested on suspicion of sewing shut the lips of a woman she lived with in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, has denied the allegation, telling investigators she has no recollection of the incident.
Masae Sakurai, who describes herself as a part-time worker, was arrested on suspicion of assault resulting in injury after allegedly using a threaded needle to sew the upper and lower lips of a 42-year-old woman together multiple times at her home in Koga at around 1:30 p.m. on June 29.
Sakurai, whose age has been reported as 50 in the latest account and 49 in earlier reports, is suspected of injuring the woman, who had been living with her since April last year. According to investigative sources, the victim’s mouth had been pierced multiple times with a needle from beneath her nose to below her lower lip, and the thread passed through the inside of her mouth, making it difficult to see from the outside.
The incident came to light on June 30, the day after the alleged attack, when the victim ran into a store near Sakurai’s home wearing a mask and showed an employee a piece of paper that read, "Help me." The woman was unable to speak because her lips had been sewn together, and the store employee called police.
Subsequent reporting found that the victim apparently went to the store to seek help while Sakurai was away from the house. Police have not disclosed the extent of the woman’s injuries, but said her life is not in danger. The victim told police she was unable to flee immediately because she was afraid of Sakurai.
Sakurai has denied the charge, and it has newly emerged through interviews with investigative sources that she told police, "I have no recollection of it."
Police conducted a second search of Sakurai’s home last week and are examining seized items while continuing to investigate the relationship between Sakurai, the victim and other people believed to have lived at the property.
A nearby resident said Sakurai appeared to have moved into the area about a year ago after buying a previously vacant secondhand property. Another resident said several people had been seen coming and going from Sakurai’s home, though their identities were not known.
An acquaintance who said they visited Sakurai’s home between six months and one year ago described the residence as cramped, with a hallway leading from the entrance to a room of about six tatami mats containing one double bed. A cat was also in the room, which the acquaintance said appeared to be Sakurai’s living space. The acquaintance said Sakurai and about two other people, believed to be women, were there at the time. "I did not really understand why they were there or what they were doing. They were cleaning," the acquaintance said.
Police believe there may have been other people living at Sakurai’s home in addition to the victim.
Sakurai reportedly worked at a restaurant until February last year. A former coworker said Sakurai had described the home as being like a share house, saying she let people who had run away from home and had nowhere to go stay there and introduced them to jobs. The former coworker said Sakurai had told them she received money from the people living with her.
The former coworker also said Sakurai had caused repeated problems at work, including allegedly lying to leave early. In one case, Sakurai reportedly said she needed to go to the hospital because a relative’s husband was near death, but was actually going to a drinking party. The former coworker also said Sakurai had posted customer-related information on social media without permission.
Sakurai was seen playing pachinko on July 4, four days after the victim fled and two days before the arrest, and appeared no different from usual, according to the former coworker. A regular at a place Sakurai frequented said she did not appear to be the type to cause a commotion, while other neighbors described her as difficult to approach and said she rarely greeted people in the area.
Investigators are examining the relationship between Sakurai and the victim, the possibility that others were living at the home, and the circumstances that led to the incident.
Source: TBS
