TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have sent to prosecutors four male and female persons over the posting of a video showing a fake stabbing on social media earlier this year, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Apr. 8).
At around 10:00 p.m. on March 15, the video was posted on Twitter. The clip showed a person falling down in the dark. “It looks like there’s been a stabbing [by a person] with a knife or some kind of cutlery. The criminal has not been caught yet. The location is Machida City,” the text of the tweet read.
According to the Machida Police Station, a person who saw the tweet alerted police. However, investigators were unable to confirm that a person had actually been stabbed.
The four suspects, all aged in their 20s, were sent to prosecutors on Monday on suspicion of violating the Minor Offenses Act over a fake report. All four suspects admit to the allegations.
“We did it to get attention,” one of the suspects was quoted by the Machida Police Station. “We didn’t think it would be a matter for the police.”
After the clip was posted, it was deleted. However, it still managed to spread widely on social media.
“I didn’t think it would go viral like that on the net,” one of the suspects said.
