A court in Japan has ordered the Tokyo metropolitan government to pay 39 million yen (US$247,970) in damages to the family of a Nepalese man who died after being excessively restrained by police eight years ago.
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Arjun Bahadur Singh was arrested in 2017 on suspicion of carrying a credit card that did not belong to him.
Police later kept the 39-year-old in a detention room, tying a belt and rope around his wrists and knees for about two hours after he became violent, the Mainichi newspaper reported.
Singh lost consciousness during questioning at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. He was subsequently taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Seeking a 61.8 million yen payout from the local and central governments, his family approached the Tokyo District Court in 2023, which found that an unreasonable level of force used by police led to the man’s death.
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According to the Asahi newspaper, the court also ruled that officers acted illegally by delaying his transfer to hospital, but awarded only 1 million yen to Singh’s dependents, citing Nepal’s compensation laws related to similar cases.
