FUKUOKA—Relatives of a woman who died after prolonged violence are seeking an independent investigation into Saga prefectural police, saying officers ignored grave concerns about her safety and then lied about their inaction.

The husband, mother and sister of the victim, Rumi Kohata, said at a news conference in Fukuoka on Dec. 16 that they had repeatedly told Saga police officers that Rumi’s life could be in danger, but they failed to take any action.

After Rumi, 36, was killed, Saga prefectural police released an internal document that showed the officers falsely reported that the family members did not intend to file a complaint about Rumi’s case and that they had accepted the decision not to investigate, the relatives said.

The document was released in November at the family’s request for information disclosure. 

“If police had opened a probe, the life (of Rumi) might not have been lost,” Yutaka Kohata, the victim’s husband, said at the news conference.

Saga prefectural police have denied the family’s request for a fresh inquiry into whether the officers responded appropriately to the family’s concerns.

Rumi, who was unemployed, was found dead in a car at a parking lot in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Oct. 20, 2019. Her body bore numerous bruises and scars from stab wounds.

Fukuoka prefectural police arrested Miyuki Yamamoto, 41, and Tsubasa Kishi, 25, who had both lived with Rumi and were unemployed, on suspicion of abandoning her body.

Masaki Tanaka, a 47-year-old truck driver who is an acquaintance of Yamamoto, was also arrested on the same suspicion.

The three suspects were later indicted.

The Fukuoka police investigation revealed that Yamamoto and Kishi routinely beat Rumi, and the constant violence drove her into a mental state in which she could no longer put up any resistance. They then forced Rumi to beg her relatives and acquaintances for money.

An indictment written by prosecutors stated that between late September and Oct. 20, 2019, Yamamoto and Kishi repeatedly attacked Rumi, including stabbing her thighs, resulting in her death.

At the news conference, the victim’s relatives said they consulted with police in Tosu, Saga Prefecture, which is near her parental home, 14 times from late June and early October that year.

They said they told police that Rumi kept asking them for money and that she was being threatened by Yamamoto and Tanaka, who had hinted they were connected to a yakuza gang.

They taped part of their conversations with officers at the Tosu police station.

Audio data recorded on Sept. 25, 2019, showed that the relatives asked officers to listen to taped telephone conversations that indicated Rumi was under threat.

The relatives told police that Rumi was in danger and may be abducted in “a plan” by “anti-social forces,” a term used for underground figures and gangs.

But officers rejected their complaint, citing a lack of expressions suggesting the seriousness of the situation, such as, “We will kill you.”

The relatives continued pressing police to look into Rumi’s situation.

“Why won’t you accept our complaint despite our repeated requests,” one of them was heard saying in the audio data. “Are police going to take responsibility if something happens?”

The officers presented a story contrary to the audio recording in the internal document released by Saga police after Rumi’s body was found.

The document stated that the relatives “did not mention that something grave may occur if the money was not paid.” It also said the family members “showed an understanding” when police told them that it would be difficult to accept their complaint.

Corresponding boxes on the form were checked to show that the situation with the relatives had been resolved and that the relatives had no intention of filing a complaint with police at that time. 

Saga prefectural police defended the Tosu police station’s decision not to open an inquiry, explaining that the officers concluded that Rumi “did not face immediate danger.” The police department did not discipline officers who handled the case nor open an additional investigation into the way the family members’ reports were handled.

Yumiko Sugiuchi, head of Saga prefectural police, reiterated the department’s explanation at the prefectural assembly and police meetings. She declined to speak directly with reporters.

(This article was written by Erika Matsumoto, Tomoki Miyasaka and Hisashi Omura.)