Dynamite-wielding Man Tells Hospital “Give me a Shot or I’ll Blow You Up”

Source: Random pic off Google Images
ZAK to the ZAK:

An unemployed 70-year-old man, accused of attempted extortion and violating the Explosives Control Law for taking dynamite to a hospital this July and demanding “Give me my desired injection or else I’ll blow up the hospital!” was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment suspended for 4 years by the Wakayama Regional Court today.

Judge Shin’ichi Tanaka scolded the man, explaining, “You inflicted fear and anxiety on the staff of a hospital that cares for more than 300 people.”

According to the judgment, the defendant requested that the doctor give him a shot for stomach pain at a hospital in Gobo City but angered when the doctor refused. The man immediately went home, retrieved the dynamite, and returned to the hospital, demanding the injection from doctors near the entrance. Also, the man was in illegal possession of 150 sticks of dynamite in his home.

The defendant was arrested for a red-handed violation of the Explosives Control Law when he was arguing at the entrance. He reportedly admitted how he got the dynamite, saying, “I was storing the leftovers from my public works job.”

Questions (My Japanese legal experts please feel free to weigh in!):

  • Umm, nobody noticed 150 sticks of dynamite missing?! Maybe regulations covering explosives need to be enforced before they catch someone threatening to blow up a hospital with dynamite stolen from a construction site. This guy’s neighbors should be pissed off right now over how inefficient Japan’s legal system makes suing the government over such gross negligience.
  • It’s not out of the ordinary for a 70-year-old man to be “unemployed” is it? For crying out loud, the retirement age in Japan is 60!
  • What are the chances that this man is senile (or worse) and needs serious treatment? Probably pretty good. I mean, maybe the judge took that into consideration when he gave him a suspended sentence, but that just means this guy’s back on the street, possibly all alone (and who knows, maybe they let him keep the dynamite!)
  • Did he ever get his freakin shot?
  • (Click below for Japanese story)

    「注射してくれないと病院爆破」とダイナマイト持参

     今年7月、和歌山県御坊市の病院にダイナマイト本を持参し「希望した注射を打たなければ、病院を爆破する」と要求したとして、強要未遂と火薬類取締法違反の罪に問われた無職の男の被告(70)に対し、和歌山地裁は27日、懲役2年6月、執行猶予4年(求刑懲役2年6月)の判決を言い渡した。

     田中伸一裁判官は「300人以上の入院患者を抱える病院の関係者に多大な恐怖や不安感を与えた」と述べた。

     判決によると、被告は7月17日、御坊市の病院で腹痛の治療で注射を打つよう医師に求めたが、拒否されたため立腹。いったん帰宅し、ダイナマイトを持って再び来院し、出入り口で医師らに注射するよう要求した。また自宅物置にダイナマイト150本を不法に所持していた。

     被告は、病院出入り口で口論していたところを火薬類取締法違反の現行犯で御坊署員に逮捕された。ダイナマイトの入手先を「土木の仕事で余った分を保管していた」と供述したという。

    ZAKZAK 2005/12/28

    ふと思った疑問(日本の刑法に詳しい人に聞きたい!)

    150本ものダイナマイトがなくなったのに誰も通報しなかったのはなぜ?

    70歳のおじいちゃんが「無職」であることは異常なのか。日本では60歳で強制的に引退させられるんじゃなかったっけ?

    事件の事情を見るとこのおじいちゃんはかなり老化が進んでるに間違いないと思う(裁判官が執行猶予をおろしたのはこのためだろう)。なんらかの治療が必要だろうが、これじゃおじいちゃんがまた世間に放り出されただけで、また変なことをするではないか。

    3 thoughts on “Dynamite-wielding Man Tells Hospital “Give me a Shot or I’ll Blow You Up””

    1. Have been reading on the road but unable to comment with the crap connections — just gotta say I love the posts, and this one was great to read, especially coming from good ‘ol Wakayama. Quite note: 60 is the official retirement age, but the actual retirement age is actually over 70 (most people leave their jobs as 社員 or what have you and move on to other work as advisees, taxi drivers, what have you).

    2. this is some F**** good and hilarious website. i just stumbled on it while googling….

      (o yes, it is so true, you learn Kanji and than all of a sudden its becoming Hip and Cool in japan to use hiragana! ”みずほ”hihihi.
      and the dynamite guy is “unemployed”, are you the only one who would be clever and/or critical enough to actually think that would be NORMAL since the guy is past 70 years old!? i wonder…)

      again, great site! thanks! 😉

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