A man, who attacked passengers on a crowded Tokyo train on Halloween night in 2021 while dressed as a Joker, was given a 23-year prison term on Monday, reported Kyodo News.
The Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court determined that Kyota Hattori (26) stabbed an elderly man in the chest with a knife and also attempted to kill 10 other passengers on a Keio Line train at 8 pm on October 31, 2021, by spreading lighter fluid around and lighting it, as per Kyodo News.
Kyodo News is a Japan-based leading news agency which publishes news from Japan and other parts of the world.
The attempted arson murder of 12 passengers was alleged by the prosecution, who sought a sentence of 25 years in jail.
President Judge Yu Takeshita said in handing down the ruling, “There remains a reasonable doubt that (the two) were at a place where their lives may have been in danger.”
Hattori and his defence team acknowledged stabbing someone and starting a fire, but they disputed the number of passengers in danger.
His declared intention was to kill randomly, according to the prosecution, and they claimed that "his motive was extremely selfish and deserving of strong condemnation."
According to the report, the man who had been stabbed was briefly in serious condition and needed care for his wound for around three months, according to Kyodo News.
Hattori said throughout the trial that he wanted to commit a killing spree in order to be executed since he believed his life to be useless.
He said that a similar random knife assault on an Odakyu Electric Railway commuter train in August of the same year, in which a guy stabbed three passengers, served as motivation for his conduct.
On July 14, the assailant was sentenced to 19 years in prison, Kyodo News reported.
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