A year ago, the Osaka District Court's Sakai Branch ruled against a grandmother who was accused of abandoning a 2-year-old girl in a playpen in Tondabayashi City, Osaka, and causing her death due to heatstroke. "Their precious lives were taken away for the selfish purpose of having fun at a theme park," he said, and sentenced him to nine years in prison.
In June of last year, Yuyo Ono (2 years old at the time) died of heatstroke after being left behind at a housing complex in Tondabayashi City, Osaka.
Her grandmother, Mayumi Ono (47), tied Yuyo's arms and legs, kept her in a playpen for three days, and caused her to die of heatstroke without giving her enough water or food, according to the person responsible for her protection. He was charged with abandonment resulting in death and confinement.
In previous trials, Defendant Ono had claimed that there was no evidence that she was tied up.
In a ruling on the 16th, Presiding Judge Miyako Fujiwara of the Osaka District Court's Sakai Branch stated, ``There were pressure marks on the body, and objective evidence is consistent with defendant Ono's child testimony,'' stating that Yuyo's limbs were was deemed to have been tied up.
In addition, ``Yuyo-chan was subjected to daily abuse, including not being given enough food.The defendant wanted to play at a theme park without having to worry about raising her, so she was 2 years old and 11 years old.'' "The consequences of losing a precious life like this are grave," he said, and sentenced him to nine years in prison, as requested.
In this case, Takanori Momota (52), who lived with Ono and was charged with the same crime, was sentenced to six years in prison at the first trial and is appealing the sentence.