Japan Govt Ordered to Pay Damages for Verbal Abuse of Inmate

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese court on Monday ordered the government to pay some 300,000 yen in damages over verbal abuse and other illegal acts by prison guards against an inmate in Aichi Prefecture. The ruling by Tokyo District Court came after the bereaved family of the inmate sued the government for some 40 million yen, accusing it of failing to offer proper medical treatment to him. Presiding Judge Akira Chino denied the causal relationship between his death and medical treatment provided by Nagoya Prison in the Aichi city of Miyoshi. The man was sent to a hospital for a possible heart attack on Feb. 22, 2022, when he was serving his sentence for an assault. He died of multiple organ failure on March 1 that year at the age of 71 after coming back to the prison. The judge recognized that seven guards at the prison infringed on the inmate’s personal rights through verbal abuse and the improper use of his thumbprint. “Those acts can’t be justified because they were not intended to maintain the discipline and order at the prison,” he said. The bereaved family had claimed that the man’s death could have been prevented if he had received a medical examination and treatment sooner, as he complained of pain in his chest nine days before he was sent to the hospital. But the judge said the court cannot recognize any improper medical observation and treatment of the inmate at the prison. In November last year, the seven guards were reprimanded for their wrongdoings including verbal abuse. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]