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Prosecutors in Japan are investigating an assault case involving a Kenyan athlete and two Japanese nationals.
On Thursday, May 9, the silver medalist was referred to prosecutors to determine his innocence and involvement in the matter.
The athlete stood accused of assaulting the two at the Komazawa-Daigaku Station around 10 pm when he was allegedly intoxicated.
According to Japanese media outlets, the 50-year-old athlete slapped a woman aged less than 20 and a train station worker on March 27. The man sustained minor injuries.
Police revealed that the man admitted to the allegations adding that he was intoxicated and was unaware of his actions.
The Kenyan athlete added that he was looking for the victims to apologize for his actions. He is said to have gotten into a fight on the train. The athlete is said to have disembarked from the train after the scuffle.
However, media reports indicated that the lady attempted to stop him. It was at this point that the Kenyan athlete is alleged to have slapped them and the worker who came to the woman’s rescue.
“There are things I don’t remember because I was too drunk, but I think it is what happened,” the Kenyan athlete was quoted by Mainichi Japan.
According to Japanese law, the penalty for assault depends on the nature of the assault and the charges pressed by the victim. In any instance, the suspect is either fined or sentenced to jail for a specific period.
According to the Japanese Penal Code, if a person assaults another and injures them in the process, the person shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 2 years, a fine of not more than Ksh252,150 (300,000 yen), misdemeanour imprisonment without work or a petty fine.”When two or more persons assault another causing injury and it is impossible to know the relative extent of the injury caused by each individual offender or which offender caused the injury, the offenders shall be dealt with as co-principals even though they did not act in concert,” reads part of the code.