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Man arrested after seriously injuring woman in Kobe building passageway

11 Comments

Police in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, have arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of assault after he grabbed a 54-year-old woman by her clothes and pulled her down to the floor in a commercial building, causing her serious injuries including a broken hip bone.

The incident occurred at around 5:45 p.m. Monday in the first-floor passageway of the Kobe Transportation Center Building, which is directly connected to JR Sannomiya Station, NHK reported. Police said the suspect, Dai Sakihama, a self-proclaimed doctor working at Hyogo Prefectural Kobe Children’s Hospital, has denied the allegation and quoted him as saying, “I remember almost bumping into her, but I can’t recall what happened next.”

Police said Sakihama had been drinking before the incident.

Police said the woman told them she almost collided with Sakihama and that when she tried to go around him, he grabbed her collar and pulled down to the floor. A male eyewitness managed to restrain Sakihama while police were called.

The woman was taken to a hospital after having suffered a broken hip bone and chest injury in the fall.

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11 Comments
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"I remember everything I did that was not problematic and conveniently forgot the rest" is not exactly an iron-clad excuse. I only hope he will continue making the prosecution work as easy.

Also, what does "self-proclaimed doctor" mean here? that he said he was a doctor but nobody checked? It should be quite easy to do that since he even gave his place of work. I surely hope a Prefectural Children's Hospital is not employing a doctor whose credentials are only self-proclaimed.

-5 ( +17 / -22 )

A male eyewitness managed to restrain Sakihama while police were called.

Case solved.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

The doctor self-proclaimed (?) drunk at 5:45 pm. I think the building locally is referred to as the Santica Building.

-8 ( +6 / -14 )

 37-year-old man, a self-proclaimed doctor working at a Children’s Hospital, seriously injuring woman in Kobe

Police said Sakihama had been drinking before the incident. SO WHAT!

Totally Inconceivable and whacky tacky, and cartoonish for days!

0 ( +10 / -10 )

"Man arrested after seriously injuring woman in Kobe building passageway."

Any kind of violence is unacceptable, however, we need also to consider the guy was drunk how intoxicated, the article never mentioned. Therefore we can only assume he was totally drunk to slam dunk the poor lady.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

however, we need also to consider the guy was drunk how intoxicated,

This would have no relevance, he made the decision to be intoxicated, so he has to deal with the consequences of that decision.

-1 ( +11 / -12 )

Ah, you see - he was drunk. So it’s all okay. Naruhodo ne.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

Lock the dinosaur up, make him and his family pay dearly for his crimes.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

The location is very busy, and especially in peak hours, impossible to attack anyone and expect to get away with it.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Wallace,

"The location is very busy, and especially in peak hours, impossible to attack anyone and expect to get away with it."

Very true, which only proves the guy was very drunk to do what he did.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

A male eyewitness managed to restrain Sakihama while police were called.

Kudos to this guy.

This is the kind of scene you literally shake to go do something but the stakes are too high as a foreigner good samaritan, next thing you're arrested for "assault", max 23 days incommunicado while the police figure things out.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

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