Man Gets 9 Years for Fatal Drunken, Wrong-Way Driving in Saitama

Saitama, Sept. 19 (Jiji Press)–A Chinese man was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison for driving in the wrong direction under the influence of alcohol, which led to a fatal collision with another vehicle in eastern Japan last year. In the lay judge trial, Saitama District Court ruled the 19-year-old defendant guilty of dangerous driving resulting in death. Presiding Judge Kenichi Emi denounced the man for “the reckless driving that disregarded traffic rules” and said that “strict punishment is unavoidable.” The court upheld public prosecutors’ demand for a nine-year prison sentence. The defense argued for a lesser charge of negligent driving resulting in death. The judge said, however, that the defendant drove at a high speed that was difficult to control on a narrow road lined with utility poles and houses. “Given the road conditions, the risk of causing an accident was particularly high,” he said, dismissing the defense side’s claim. On Sept. 29 last year, the defendant drove in the wrong direction under the influence at a speed of about 125 kilometers per hour on a one-way road with a legal speed limit of 30 kph in the city of Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, according to the ruling. His vehicle collided with a car that came from his right, killing a man inside, company executive Shigeru Nuitani, then 51. The Saitama District Public Prosecutors Office initially indicted the suspect on charges of negligent driving resulting in death. In March this year, however, the office filed for a change in the charge to dangerous driving resulting in death, which carries heavier penalties. The court approved the request. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]