Husband of slain Japanese arrested

CEBU, Philippines —  The husband believed to be the mastermind in the killing of his own wife, Junko Hamada, in Cebu City last year was arrested by the authorities in Japan Thursday, police said.

Shinichi Hamada, 77, was arrested by the police in Akashi City in Hyogo Prefecture, according to a report by a broadcast company in Japan. He was living in Kobe’s Nishi ward.

His wife, Junko, 71, was shot dead inside her car along N. Bacalso Avenue last August 24, 2018. The assailants were identified by the police as Mary Jane Aguilar and GB Bertulfo, but it was allegedly Shinichi who masterminded the killing.

At the time, Junko was the sitting president of BEAMS Philippines Export Corporation, a Talisay City-based business engaged in exporting high-quality furniture and home decors.

Police Major Randy Caballes, then the chief of Mambaling Police Station, said that Aguilar and Bertulfo issued extrajudicial confession saying they were allegedly paid by Shinichi to kill Junko.

Investigation revealed that Junko allegedly blocked the transfer of money for Shinichi after discovering that he had a relationship with Aguilar.

During the killing, Bertulfo was driving a motorcycle with Aguilar as his backrider. Aguilar was allegedly the one who identified the target.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Frankie Jingle Lugo, chief of Investigation, Detection and Management Branch (IDMB), said that the case against Aguilar and Bertulfo will continue even if the alleged mastermind has been arrested in Japan.

“Sa atin yung dalawa, kasama siya (Shinichi) dapat, kasi dito nangyari ng krimen. Wala namang power yung court natin na i-summon siya kung hineld nila dun not unless kung sila mismo ang mag-vovolunteer na i-expatriate nila dito for the hearing,” Lugo said. — JMD (FREEMAN)