Add Category
Updated
Thai police have arrested a 74-year-old Japanese fugitive who was recognised when his full-body tattoos were circulated online.
- The man had been hiding for more than 10 years to evade murder charges in Japan
- He was recognised on Facebook in photo taken by man impressed with his tattoos
- He will face illegal entry charges before he is handed over to Japanese authorities
A police statement said Shigeharu Shirai was arrested on Wednesday in a province north of Bangkok, where he had been hiding for more than 10 years to evade murder charges in Japan in connection with the death of a rival gang member.
His arrest apparently came after photos of him sitting around a checkers table were posted on Facebook in August last year by a Thai who was impressed by the man's tattoos.
The post was shared over 10,000 times when some users identified the former gang member.
Police General Wirachai Songmetta said Mr Shirai's Japanese associates paid visits to him two to three times a year, each time bearing cash gifts at around $397.
He was married to a Thai woman and had kept a low profile over the past decade, police said.
Investigators said Mr Shirai was a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi gang, a faction within Japan's yakuza.
He is implicated, along with seven others, in the killing of Kashihiko Otobe, who was the deputy leader of the rival Kamiya gang, 15 years ago.
Mr Shirai will face illegal entry charges before he is handed over to Japanese authorities, the police statement said.
Tattoos on the back, upper arms and a missing tip of a little finger are trademarks of Japanese yakuza. Tattooed guests are often refused entry to public baths and swimming pools.
According to the National Police Agency, 22 gangs were designated as organised crime groups in 2017, with membership totalling more than 20,000.
Almost three quarters of the gangsters belong to the Yamaguchi-gumi and two other groups, Sumiyoshi-kai and Inagawa-kai, which together dominate Japan's underworld.
In addition to illegal drug sales and gambling, which are their traditional ways of earning money, gangsters also have entered construction, finance and security businesses.
AP
Topics: crime, police, murder-and-manslaughter, people, japan, thailand, asia
First posted