15-Yr Sentence Upheld for Friend of Mom Who Starved Son to Death

Fukuoka, March 9 (Jiji Press)--Fukuoka High Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a friend of the woman who starved her 5-year-old son to death in April 2020 to 15 years in prison.

Presiding Judge Futoshi Ichikawa maintained the decision made by Fukuoka District Court at a lay judge trial, dismissing the defendant's appeal.

Ichikawa said there is nothing unreasonable regarding the district court ruling that recognized the credibility of testimonies by the victim's mother based on her exchanges with the suspect on social media. The judge rejected the defendant's claim of innocence.

"The very acts of the suspect led to the victim's sufferings and death," Ichikawa said.

The defense side had insisted that the mother's testimonies adopted by the district court had no credibility and that, even if the suspect was guilty, the sentence was too heavy.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]