Japan Confirms More Saga Police DNA Misconduct Cases

Tokyo, June 4 (Jiji Press)--The number of improper DNA analysis cases conducted by a former Saga prefectural police forensic employee rose to 239 from 130 identified in an internal probe, Japan’s National Police Agency said Thursday.

The NPA released a report on a special inspection that reviewed 643 DNA tests linked to the former employee of the police in southwestern prefecture.

The report said the agency cannot rule out the possibility that investigations were negatively affected in 37 cases, including those in which retesting was impossible.

The agency nevertheless concluded that the series of misconduct cases did not lead to the arrest or detention of the wrong person or affect trials.

“We take it seriously that the public’s trust in DNA testing, an important pillar of detailed and proper investigations, has been damaged,” Commissioner-General Yoshinobu Kusunoki told a news conference. “We will make sure that measures are taken to prevent a recurrence and will work to regain confidence in forensic examinations.”

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]