The murder of a high school girl in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, took place in April of this year. The suspects, 21-year-old Riko Uchida and 19-year-old girl were re-arrested on suspicion of murder.
The suspect Uchida, who was well known as a bad girl in Asahikawa, had been in trouble with the victim, Runa Murayama, over social media.
When Murayama posted a photo of Uchida on social media without permission, Uchida demanded 100,000 yen as a settlement. However, when she failed to receive the money electronically, she and the 19-year-old suspect took Murayama away in a car. It’s alleged that they assaulted her in the car, and made her sit on the parapet of the bridge and pushed her off.
Allegedly, earlier this year, the suspect Uchida and an assistant inspector from the Asahikawa Central Police Station met at a bar in the city. The assistant inspector, who has a wife and child, began to have physical relations with Uchida. By coincidence, he later became the detective in charge of the case involving the suspect.
However, the police station responded, “We refrain from responding to individual specific details.”
As has been reported many times before, Uchida was known as a dangerous person in the Asahikawa nightlife district even before the incident. It’s unlikely that the assistant inspector was dating her without knowing anything about her background. What is a police officer, who is supposed to be a role model for citizens, doing in the first place? The police won’t escape criticism.
This kind of “forbidden love” should be confined to the world of manga.
