TOKYO (TR) – A former member of a criminal syndicate who was arrested this week over the fatal shooting of another former gangster in Shinjuku Ward earlier this year disguised himself while on the run, police have revealed, reports TBS News (July 12).
At around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, police apprehended Masaru Abe, a 56-year-old former member of the Sumiyoshi-kai, at a parking lot in Edogawa Ward.
On January 21, Abe allegedly shot Lee Hung Jong, a 65-year-old former Sumiyoshi-kai member, three times in the chest and arm inside a karaoke parlor in the Kabukicho red-light district.
Just before apprehending the suspect, police spotted a vehicle that he is believed to have been using. When he approached the vehicle, Abe was wearing a women’s wig and brown hat, a disguise that he believed to have used during his time on the run.
“I aimed for his heart and fired several shots,” Abe was quoted by police in admitting to murder upon his arrest. At the time, the suspect was in possession of a bag containing one pistol and six rounds of ammunition.
Following the shooting, Abe fled by motorcycle. Police later found a motorcycle, helmet and red hat at an apartment building in the Okubo area, about 600 meters from the where the incident took place. The suspect remained on the run until Thursday.
Lee was a national of South Korea who left the Sumiyoshi-kai more than two decades ago, police said.
