TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday arrested the male tenant of an apartment in Suginami Ward for allegedly stabbing two male court bailiffs when they arrived to evict him, reports Kyodo News
According to NHK (Jan. 15), the unnamed tenant, aged in his 40s, also started a fire after the bailiffs arrived.
At around 10:15 a.m., a call was made to police reporting that someone had been stabbed in Izumi 2-chome.
According to police, one of the two bailiffs, both aged in their 60s, was unconscious and in critical condition upon the arrival of authorities.
The second man suffered minor injuries, police said.
Tokyo police arrested the male tenant on suspicion of attempted murder after locating him at the scene.
At some point during the incident, the tenant, who was behind on his rent, is believed to have ignited a gas canister for a portable stove, causing a fire inside. The blaze was quickly extinguished, police said.
The incident occurred in a residential area approximately 800 meters northwest of Daitabashi Station on the Keio Line.
Bailiffs
According to a local court website, bailiffs are court employees assigned to each district court. When a person who has been ordered to vacate their home fails to do so, they remove all of the household goods and evict the occupant.
Because bailiffs may encounter resistance from debtors and others at the scene of an execution, they are given strong authority, including the ability to request police assistance at their own discretion.
