SHIZUOKA – Police on Tuesday arrested five individuals including four teenagers after the body of a 17-year-old boy with Chinese nationality was found in a central Japan lake earlier this month.
The five are Neo Horiuchi, 21, from Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, an 18-year-old man with Philippine nationality and three 17-year-old boys, including one with Brazilian nationality. They were arrested on charges including assaulting Ukawa Saito, who was enrolled at a correspondence high school.
The police are investigating the relationship between the five and the victim.
An autopsy has indicated that Saito was drowned, with his body bearing multiple bruises.
Saito, who lived in Fukuroi, a city in western Shizuoka Prefecture, was reported missing by his family on Feb. 7 and his body was found two days later by an angler at Lake Hamana, also in the western part of the prefecture.
A 74-year-old man working near where the body was found said the area is usually quiet, with only occasional visitors such as anglers and local residents for exercise.
“It is not the kind of place high school students come, especially at night when there are no streetlights,” he said.
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Body of 17-year-old boy found in central Japan lake, murder suspected
