Gunma Minamimaki village guilty driver in the fall of the "white number" bus accident October 16 17:18
In May, an accident that caused a microbus to fall under a cliff in Minamimaki-gun, Gunma Prefecture caused 13 minor passengers to be injured and carried passengers with a so-called “white number”. In the trial of a man who was charged with violating the law, the Maebashi District Court sentenced him to a conviction with a postponement.
Defendant Isao Ebihara (66), an automobile repair sales business in Moriya City, Ibaraki Prefecture, injured 13 passengers without seriously applying the side brakes in May, when the microbus fell down the cliff in Minamimaki Village. In addition, he was accused of negligence on business and breach of the Road Transport Law for repeatedly operating the so-called “white number” to carry passengers without permission.
In previous trials, the defendant admitted the indicted content, and the prosecution demanded a penalty of 500,000 yen for two years in prison.
At the 16th trial held at the Maebashi District Court, President Kunii Kunii pointed out, “I neglected the duty of caution and could make a lot of lives harm if I made a mistake.”
On top of that, “Inadequate safety management was carried out, such as taking care of human life without applying while knowing that permission was required. Motivation to act as a white bus was selfish and deserved of strong accusation”, imprisonment for 2 years, fine 50 Ten thousand yen, sentenced to 4 years probation.