Police And Japanese Prosecutors Apologize At The Tomb Of The Wrong Man Arrested

JAKARTA - Tokyo police and prosecutors on Monday apologized at the grave of a man who was allegedly wrongly for exporting sensitive equipment without permission and died without collateral.

They apologized at Shizuo Amen's grave, former adviser to the machine maker Ohkawara Kakokki Co., in Yokohama, attended by the deceased's family members.

The apology comes after police released a report earlier this month that concluded a dysfunction in the investigative command chain led to the error of arresting Amen and two others.

"We regret this illegal investigation and arrest," said Deputy Chief of the Metropolitan Police Tetsuro Kamata, according to Kyodo News, August 25.

When representatives of the police and the Tokyo District General Prosecutor's Office apologized in June to the presidents of companies Masaaki Okawara (76) and Junji Shimada (72), one of the former company directors, Amen's family was not present.

Family lawyers submitted letters to officials stating that they "cannot accept apologies in the current situation."

Okawara, Shipada, and Amen were arrested and charged between March and June 2020 on suspicion of exporting illegal spray dryers capable of producing biological agents.

Amen passed away in February 2021 at the age of 72 after battling stomach cancer, which was only discovered when he was detained.

He filed eight requests for bail, but all of them were rejected, although he was eventually allowed to leave the detainees for treatment.

Prosecutors withdrew the charges against co-defendants Amen, Okawara and Shimada, in July 2021, when it was decided "there are doubts about whether they are guilty of a crime."

The Attorney General's Office in its review stated that it was "deeply regretful" that the request for guarantee should have been handled with more understanding.

In September 2021, the company based in Yokohama filed a compensation lawsuit against the Tokyo City Government and local governments.

The Tokyo High Court's ruling in May concluded that the arrests and charges against the three men were illegal, ordering the city government and local governments to pay compensation of 166 million yen (IDR 18,307,559,000).

The verdict was finalized in June, when the Tokyo City Government and local governments voted not to file an appeal.