HOKKAIDO (TR) – A court here has handed a 28-year-old woman a suspended prison term after the corpse of her child was found in her house in Tomakomai City last year, reports NHK (March 9).
At the Sapporo District Court, presiding judge Yoichi Tsukahara handed Aimi Tokuda, of no known occupation, a one-year prison term, suspended three years, for abandoning the corpse of her two-year-old son.
According to the ruling, the boy died in the bathroom of the residence he shared with his mother in January 2020.
Tokuda then put his corpse in a suitcase and concealed it in a closet since she had failed to register his birth with the local authorities.
“In leaving the body of your son in a closet for more than 10 months, you greatly damaged the dignity of the dead,” judge Tsukahara said.
“My child’s corpse is at my house”
Last December, Tokuda arrived at the Tomakomai Police Station. “My child’s corpse is at my house,” she reportedly said.
Officers arriving at her residence in the Hokkocho area found the body inside. Upon her arrest, Tokuda admitted to the allegations, police said previously.
“Fear of discovery of your not registering his birth as a motive was short-sighted, leaving nothing further to be considered,” Judge Tsukahara said.
But the judge also took into consideration Tokuda’s “willingness to rehabilitate” in handing down the suspended term.
