HOKKAIDO (TR) – A 38-year-old man out on bail while facing charges of confinement and use of illegal drugs failed to appear in court in Sapporo City on Wednesday, prosecutors said, reports TBS News (Oct. 3).
At 9:50 a.m., Tatsuya Sagara, a resident of the city’s Shiroishi Ward, failed to appear at the Sapporo District Court for the reading of the judgment in the case.
During the trial, Sagara acknowledged the claims of the prosecution. He posted bail of 2.5 million yen on August 1.
The Sapporo District Public Prosecutor’s Office is now seeking the whereabouts of Sagara, who is believed to have fled.
Last December, Sagara and three accomplices allegedly confined a male youth, then 17, in the trunk of a car while attempting to extort him. The motive for the crime was money-related problems.
This past May, Sagara was accused of using kakuseizai, or stimulant drugs.
“We are not in a position to respond,” a representative of the Sapporo District Court said. “There was no problem with our handling [of the matter],” a representative of the Sapporo District Public Prosecutor’s Office said.
The prosecution is seeking a four-year prison term in the case.
