Sase Yoriyuki [Toriyuki]

Case Summary

The defendant, Police Inspector Sase Yoriyuki, was accused of ill-treatment resulting in the deaths of two victims.

In December 1943, Sase arrested the first victim, Ngu San Tieh, as Ngu was suspected for being in possession of a Japanese flag. Sase, who was in charge of the case, interrogated and ill-treated Ngu, subjecting him to ju-jitsu throws and water torture. Ngu died two hours into the interrogation. A local doctor was compelled to certify Ngu's death was due to natural causes.

In May 1945, Sase was working with the Kempeitai and was interrogating Chinese suspects at police headquarters. The second victim, Anis bin Elok, a stranger to Sibu, entered the buildings to investigate screams that he heard. Having been discovered by Sase, Anis was tied him to the ceiling with weights on his feet, and was beaten up. Anis was left suspended from the ceiling, and died one hour later. Sase took Ains's body to the river and cut it into pieces, in an effort to make it sink.

For more information see:

http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/93cdbf/

http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/28df5e/

http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/816456/

http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/841a91/

In his opening address, the prosecution alleged that Sase's actions were not only contrary to the customs and usages of war, but also to all canons of civilian behaviour.

The case facts are extremely gruesome, describing in detail how Sase had cut the stomach of Anis's body with a sword, and how Sase had cut the body into smaller pieces upon realising that the body would not sink.