NARA (TR) – Nara Prefectural Police have arrested a female companion of a man under prosecution on drug charges for assisting him during a temporary period on the run last year, reports TV Asahi (Jan. 5).
On November 21, Akemi Sho, 46, is alleged to have driven a car that was used by Hideki Iida, 50, to evade capture after he was given permission to attend his brother’s funeral in Sakurai City.
A examination of security camera footage showed that Sho, a Korean national who is considered Iida’s common law wife, accompanied Iida to Kashihara City.
Sho, who has been accused of aiding a criminal, told police that he had asked her to help him. “I did not intend for him to escape,” Sho is quoted by police in partially denying the allegations.
At the time of his escape, Iida was headed back to a police station in the presence of his lawyer. He was recaptured three days later inside a parking lot in Yamatotakada City.
Police had arrested Iida for possession of stimulant drugs.
