TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have a identified a corpse found inside a suitcase floating in a canal in Shinagawa Ward last month as that of a Chinese woman, reports NHK (July 7).
Police used fingerprint information taken from the body to confirm the identity as that of Yang Mei, a 34-year-old Chinese woman who had been reported missing.
On the afternoon of June 27, Yang’s body was found inside a suitcase retrieved from a canal in front of the Dai-ichi Hotel Tokyo Seafort, approximately 200 meters from Tennozu Isle Station on the Tokyo Monorail.
The corpse was clothed in a pink tank top and blue shorts. No external wounds were found on the body.
In addition to the body, police also found stones in the suitcase. Police suspect that the stones were used as ballast in an attempt to sink the bag beneath the surface.
According to the investigation, Yang entered Japan as a technical skill trainee in September of 2013. She worked in Kyoto at an automotive parts company.
In March of 2014, she went missing from the company’s dormitory. The company then reported her disappearance to authorities in her home town in China.
Police are investigating whether Yang became involved in some kind of trouble that led to her death.