Prosecutors in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture say that a 32-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after he used a hatchet to attack a 52-year-old man playing pachinko last month, will undergo psychiatric tests for three months to determine if he is mentally fit to stand trial.
According to prosecutors, Kaito Hayasaka, who lives in Taiwa, Miyagi Prefecture, has admitted attacking the man but has not given a motive, Kyodo News reported. He told police he didn’t know the victim.
The incident occurred at around 9:50 p.m. on July 26 at the Super Lucky Izumi pachinko parlor. The attacker hit the victim in the head and back and then ran out of the pachinko parlor.
An employee called 110. The victim was taken to hospital but his injuries were not life-threatening.
Police said Hayasaka, who was arrested on July 27, was identified after examining surveillance camera footage from the pachinko parlor. The hatchet was found discarded near his apartment.
Prosecutors say the psychiatric evaluation will last until Nov 30.
© Japan Today
3 Comments
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Yubaru
3 months to evaluate him? I would really like to know just what kind of tests they are doing on this guy? Or are they planning on giving him a lobotomy and need the time for recovery from the surgery.
krustytheclown
The fact that he ran out of the place says a lot. He knew he had done something wrong.
Marc Lowe
Frequently people claim, perhaps falsely, that they don't remember. In this case, the degenerate gambler admitted to attacking a fellow human being with whom he is not acquainted. This hatchet attack does not seem accidental. The victim may have been winning a lot, thus making the attacker jealous. Or, he may have "stolen" the machine at which the victim had hoped to sit. More likely, however, the horrible music they play in those gambling dens got on the attacker's nerve and gave him temporary insanity. Fortunately, the victim survived and wasn't too badly injured. It is with high hopes the attacker gets the tender loving care he requires to repair his delicate mindset.