The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday handed down an eight-year prison term to a hacker who hijacked computers and used them to send malicious threats, leading to the erroneous arrest of the devices' unsuspecting owners.
The case, which dates back to 2012, raised questions about policing practices after four people were wrongfully arrested in connection with the cyberthreats.
Two of those arrested even gave false confessions for issuing the messages, which included bomb threats and a vow to go on a mass-killing spree.