HOKKAIDO (TR) – Hokkaido Prefectural Police have arrested a 44-year-old man over the fatal assault of his male neighbor in Bibai City last week, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (July 22).
At around 9:20 p.m. on July 20, Kazuyuki Daigaku allegedly used a blunt instrument to repeatedly strike the man, 52, in the face on a road.
Officers arriving at the scene arrested Daigaku on suspicion of attempted murder. “I did not intend to kill,” the suspect was quoted by the Bibai Police Station. Meanwhile, the victim was later confirmed dead at a hospital.
According to police, the suspect and victim had gotten into a dispute about a snow-removal vehicle in the past. The day before the incident, the victim lodged a complaint with police about “noise” caused by the suspect.
“It was truly frightening”
After the incident, a female neighbor, 25, heard the victim scream for help. She then saw a man believed to be the suspect wielding what appeared to be a hammer. “I was truly frightening,” she said.
Police are now investigating whether to change the charges against Daigaku to murder.
