crime

Man goes on trial for kidnapping 12-year-old girl for ransom

10 Comments

The trial began Thursday of a man charged with being the ringleader in the kidnapping of a 12-year-old girl in Tokyo's Ota Ward last November.

The Tokyo District Court heard that the defendant, Hiroaki Haneda, 44, from Saitama, and two other men -- Genki Miyagi, 25, from Okinawa, and Ryunosuke Taba, 24, also from Okinawa -- grabbed the girl off the street in Denenchofu and forced her into their car at around 5 p.m. as she was on her way home from school, TV Asahi reported. At 6:50 p.m., the girl's mother received a pay phone call from the kidnappers who demanded that she prepare a 20 million yen ransom in exchange for her daughter. She contacted police.

Police said the kidnappers got the girl's home phone number from her mobile phone.

However, at around 8 p.m., a police officer in Fuchu, western Tokyo, who was on the lookout for a stolen car's license plate, but who knew nothing about the kidnapping, stopped the car and found two of the kidnappers and the girl who was blindfolded in the trunk of the car with her ​​feet and hands bound.

The officer called for back-up and Haneda and Miyagi were arrested. Taba was taken into custody in Kanagawa Prefecture, police said.

The court heard that Haneda met the other two on an Internet chat site where they discussed the possibility of a kidnap for ransom. Haneda, who pleaded guilty, said they chose the girl at random, TV Asahi reported.

Miyagi and Taba were tried separately.

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10 Comments
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Miyagi and Taba are being tried separately

Here's to them spending a long time together.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Genki Miyagi and Ryunosuke Taba already received a two year prison sentence for the crime in March 2014.

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20140710-00000530-san-soci

Moderator: Thanks for the update.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Two years is very little ... I wish the boss get 10 at least.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

They should get 20 years or 30...why 2 years? Lock those bastards alive, & waterboard them...

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Yes, 2 years seems like a relatively short time for the severity of the crime.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Kidnapping children for ransom does seem like one of those crimes that demand a much longer sentence than 2 years.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Wow! What a nice judge. 2 years for kidnapping a 12 year old girl? Guess this is the place to commit crimes! Shameful, but at least they got 'em. I wish the girl a speedy emotional recover.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"Wow! What a nice judge. 2 years for kidnapping a 12 year old girl? Guess this is the place to commit crimes! Shameful, but at least they got 'em. I wish the girl a speedy emotional recover"

this is the Japanese style judicial process.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

...and not a single comment on how a JCop - in the performance of his duties - managed to expose and thwart the kidnapping. I'll say this for JT readers, they sure are consistent despite what's reported.

this is the Japanese style judicial process.

If you compare typical sentences for rape and homicide, this two year sentence is probably par for the course considering that the girl was apparently not harmed other than the trauma of being kidnapped.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Good they should rot in prison!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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