Five-year-old girl punched in the face and stripped naked in a graveyard… “The full story of an abuse case that’s too dangerous”.
I’ve got a fun mission for you. Today the fun begins again.”
The man then pulled the girl’s hair and punched her in the face. He then put his hand in her mouth and grabbed her lower jaw, assaulting her. In a large pot placed on a chair, he kept her standing for nearly six hours until dawn.
On February 9, the Okayama Prefectural Police arrested Aya Nishida (34), a mother living in Kita Ward, Okayama City, and Seiji Funabashi (38), an interior decorator who was in a relationship with the suspect, for repeatedly abusing a 5-year-old girl. The abused child was Maa Nishida. She was transported to the hospital in a brain-dead state last September, but died of hypoxic encephalopathy in January this year.
In September of last year, the Child Guidance Center reported to the police that a girl who had been taken to the hospital was in a brain-dead state and that there was a possibility of a case, which led to the arrest of both suspects. Maa was wrapped up in a futon just before she was taken to the hospital, and was having difficulty breathing.
According to the police investigation, it is known that there were at least five assaults, including punches to the face, during last September. Nishida denied the allegations, saying, ‘It’s not right to say I was an accomplice because I didn’t do it. Funabashi admitted to the abuse, saying, “There is no doubt that I was violent and made her stand on a chair for a long time. Funabashi assaulted Maa by saying things like, ‘The fun time is about to begin,’ and Nishida apparently did not stop him but tolerated it.
The assault was photographed with a smartphone.
The assault was horrific.
The assault was horrific. “Maa was sometimes made to stand in a pot for nearly six hours, but she was not even allowed to go to the bathroom. She was stripped naked, sprayed with liquid, and even had a fan turned on. In September 2008, a passerby saw him standing naked in a cemetery in the middle of the night and scolding her violently. In September 2008, a passerby witnessed him standing naked in a cemetery late at night and scolding her violently. To make her feel more scared, he even blindfolded her. ……
The assault was filmed on Funabashi’s smartphone. Several videos showing the abuse have been found. The suspect’s house, where the assault took place, was equipped with several indoor cameras. Funabashi suspect’s house is located about 10km away. It seems that the suspect used the cameras to monitor Maa-chan when he was away.
The assault seems to have taken place on a daily basis. On Nishida’s phone, he left a message with Funabashi saying, “If you don’t feed her soon, her blood color will be bad. It seems that Maa was not given enough food.
According to several media reports, neighbors had frequently heard children crying and adults shouting reprimands before Maa was taken to the hospital. I wonder if the incident could have been prevented.
In June 2007, the Okayama City Child Guidance Center issued a written notice to Nishida on suspicion of neglect of Ma’ai, who was three years old at the time. When the children’s minister interviewed her, she had a bruise on her forehead the size of a ten-yen coin, but Nishida explained that she might have bumped it somewhere. As for the suspect Funabashi, he denied his existence, saying, “There is no such person.
The following year, in September 2008, there was a report that a girl was being severely reprimanded outdoors at a cemetery (the episode mentioned above), and the Children’s Minister took Maa into custody for 14 days. At this time, the Children’s Minister met with the Funabashi suspects for the first time. However, both suspects seemed to be remorseful, and the protection was lifted. After that, they met with Nishida once every three to four months, but only talked with Funabashi once on the phone.
Children’s Ministries, with their limited number of staff, are not able to deal with all problems. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of consultations on child abuse in fiscal 2008 was about 205,000, an increase of about 11,000 from the previous year. This is the highest number ever.
Photo: Kyodo News: Kyodo News Agency