News

A photograph of Ichihashi that was distributed nationwide, right, and a photo taken after he underwent cosmetic surgery. (Photos courtesy of Chiba Prefectural Police)

The National Police Agency (NPA) has initiated procedures to divide up a 10 million yen reward among those that provided information that led to the arrest of Tatsuya Ichihashi, a 30-year-old man who had been wanted over the killing of Briton Lindsay Ann Hawker.

It is believed that payments will be made to: the person who phoned police shortly before Ichihashi's arrest, saying that there was someone resembling the suspect at a ferry terminal in Osaka; the person at a construction company in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, where Ichihashi had been hiding, who filed a report; and the clinic in Nagoya which reported that it had performed cosmetic surgery on a person resembling Ichihashi.

It is the first time for police to apply the reward system under which public funds are used to pay people who provide information on unsolved serious crimes such as murder. Under the system, which was launched in May 2007, information on the crimes is solicited through the Web sites of related police headquarters and the NPA, and through posters.

Usually rewards are offered for up to one year. In principle, when the suspect is on a police wanted list the reward is 1 million yen, and in other cases the upper limit is 3 million yen. However, under special circumstances, the limit can be raised to 10 million yen.

The case of Hawker's killing came under the reward system in June 2007. The reward for information leading to Ichihashi's arrest was extended for the second time in June this year. Of 17 cases falling under the system, the killing of Hawker was the only one whose reward had been raised to 10 million yen. Police had received about 150 tips per month and they believed that raising the reward would prove effective.