KUMAMOTO (TR) – Kumamoto Prefectural Police have arrested a 35-year-old man over the killing of a male acquaintance in Kumamoto City this week, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Mar. 23).
At around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, police working off a tip found the body of Tokuya Nagamatsu, 29, inside a multi-tenant building in a business district in Chuo Ward.
The following day, police arrested Akira Akiyama, the manager of a restaurant, and two other persons on suspicion of inflicting injury.
According to police, the suspects repeatedly beat the head of the victim with their hands starting at around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.
During questioning, Akiyama said that he got into a dispute with the victim. “I beat him several times,” the suspect was quoted. “I didn’t know he would die.”
After the incident, Akiyama alerted emergency services, saying by telephone that “a man was collapsed” inside the building.
Police are now investigating whether to change the charges against the suspects to manslaughter.
