A former municipal assemblyman who was ridiculed for weeping hysterically at a 2014 news conference was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison, suspended for four years, for expenses fraud.
The Kobe District Court found that former Hyogo Prefectural Assembly member Ryutaro Nonomura, 49, pocketed travel allowances by claiming funds for nonexistent business trips from fiscal 2011 to 2013.
"The defendant betrayed prefectural residents with his greed for money," said presiding Judge Takeshi Samo, adding that the defendant showed no remorse during the trial.
But the court suspended the sentence, saying Nonomura has already been punished socially. It noted that he has also repaid the money.
Prior to the ruling, Nonomura told prefectural residents in a blog post that he is "deeply sorry."
Prosecutors sought three years without suspension, saying he dishonestly claimed a total of ¥9.13 million by filing claims for a series of one-day business trips that he did not take.
Nonomura denied the allegation at his trial, with his defense team arguing there was no evidence to show the funds were spent for purposes other than his political activities.
He did not show up for his first court hearing in November, but the court summoned him to attend in person in January.
Nonomura gained prominence in July 2014 when he bawled at a news conference after he was confronted with allegations of political fund misuse.
He resigned as an assemblyman later that month and has since repaid over ¥18 million received in allowances since fiscal 2011, when he was first elected.
