TOKYO (TR) – The Tokyo District Court last week handed a prison term that includes a probationary period to the daughter of noted author C.W. Nicol over the use of stimulant drugs, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Sept. 12).
On September 12, presiding judge Naohiro Hayashi handed Arisa Nicol, 32, a prison term of two years and two months for the use of kakuseizai, or stimulant drugs. Of that sentence, four months will be under probation.
“With a previous conviction for the use of stimulant drugs, [the defendant] has a strong dependency,” the judge said.
The prosecution had sought a three-year term.
According to the indictment, Arisa used stimulant drugs on at least two occasions in Nagano and Okinawa prefectures between August of last year and February of this year.
Tokyo police were tipped off about the use of stimulant drugs by Arisa in November, according to a previous report. An analysis of her urine provided a positive result.
Arisa then went missing until being found by police in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo at around 2:00 a.m. on February 7. At the time of her arrest, she was pregnant.
C.W. Nicol, 77, a resident of Nagano Prefecture, is the author of a number of novels, non-fiction works and essay collections in Japanese and English, many of which focus on the environment. The native of Wales received Japanese citizenship in 1995.