Unpreventable death of 3-year-old child Information on suspect's "violence" provided to police, government, and community

Why did a 3-year-old child die? There was information from the police, the government, and the community that gave a warning. A boy in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, died after being assaulted by his mother's office worker, Ryo Matsui (41), and prefectural police revealed that his mother had contacted him this summer to report that he had been assaulted by the suspect. The city also announced that they had confirmed the boy's injuries just before the incident.

On the 10th, prefectural police announced the boy's name as Hinata Okudera, increasing the suspicion that the boy died as a result of assault, so Matsui, who had been arrested on suspicion of assault, was changed to suspicion of manslaughter and sent to the prosecutor's office.

The prosecutor's office alleges that around 4 p.m. on the 8th at an apartment in the city's Taira district, he is suspected of grabbing Ms. Yang by the neck, throwing her around, and stepping on her stomach, causing serious injuries and causing her death.

Yang's mother, who was with her at the time of the crime, took her to the hospital, but she died around 10 a.m. on the 9th.

According to prefectural police, the boy's mother contacted the local police station this summer, complaining that she was being assaulted by Matsui, her boyfriend. Police officers checked the body, but found no signs of injury to the mother or Mr. Yang.

Prefectural police shared the information with the prefectural Hama Child Guidance Center, contacted the mother regularly, and received a response that there was no problem. Prefectural police said, ``We were unable to determine that he had been subjected to violence.''

The children's minister revealed that the prefectural police had provided information in July, but since it was not a more serious "notification," he said, "At that time, we judged it to be safe. I cannot comment on what we will do after that."

Meanwhile, Iwaki City announced on the 10th that it had learned of the suspicion of abuse in late October based on information from the certified nursery school that Yo attended. After sharing the information with the children's minister, they confirmed the injury on the child's face four days before the incident, but the mother explained that it was carelessness on the child's part and no further action could be taken.

Acts suspected of mistreatment of Mr. Yang were also witnessed in the neighborhood.

According to the management company of the apartment where the three lived, the mother and son moved in about a year ago. After that, the suspect Matsui started stopping by, and the three of them were even seen taking a walk together.

However, from around September, local residents began receiving reports that ``the boy was being taken outside at night'' and ``he was locked in a car and crying.'' The company warned the mother three times, and the next time the problem arose, the company intended to report it to the child care center.

A representative from the company said, ``After that, there was no information about the neighborhood, and I was relieved that things had calmed down, but then something like this happened.It's difficult to know how much the management company should be allowed to interfere in household matters.''