TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 36-year-old company employee for allegedly severely beating a man and demanding cash following a traffic dispute, reports TBS News (July 28).
Yuki Kudo, a resident of Meguro Ward, is accused of punching and kicking a man in his 40s more than a dozen times on a street in Higashi-Gotanda, Shinagawa Ward in May.
The brutal assault left the victim with severe injuries, including a fractured cheekbone.
Upon his arrest, Kudo admitted to the allegations but attempted to shift the blame to the victim.
“He picked the fight and I got hurt, so I wanted money for my medical treatment,” Kudo told investigators.
Police say the two men did not know each other prior to the incident, which began as a verbal altercation over a traffic dispute. According to investigators, Kudo subjected the victim to a one-sided beating, forced him to grovel on the ground in a dogeza prostration, and ruthlessly stomped on his head.
Following the assault, Kudo allegedly smashed the victim’s smartphone and demanded he go to a bank account to withdraw cash, leading to his arrest on suspicion of robbery resulting in bodily injury.
