Woman admits in Japanese court she forced roommate to sew her own lips shut

TOKYO – A 50-year-old woman admitted to threatening a female roommate and forcing her to sew her own lips shut with a needle and thread during the first hearing of her trial held near Tokyo on Nov 11.Masae Sakurai denied the allegations when she was arrested in July before admitting the charges during the hearing at the Shimotsuma branch of the Mito District Court in Ibaraki prefecture.The prosecutors said in their opening statement that the roommate, 42, skipped her meals after Sakurai told her that “those who do not work shall not eat”, but angered the defendant by eating food without her permission, leading to the alleged crime.The prosecutors presented evidence, including footage from a security camera installed at Sakurai’s home.The defence said it would not contest the charges or object to the admission of the evidence.According to the indictment, Sakurai intimidated the roommate and forced her to sew her own lips shut at some stage between June 18 and 24, telling her: “If you let me do it, the pain will double.”Sakurai was initially arrested on June 29 on suspicion of sewing the roommate’s lips shut herself, an allegation she denied. The prosecutors decided in October not to indict her on that charge. KYODO NEWS