Former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive, Yasuo Hayashi, 40, testified in court Tuesday that he believes Shoko Asahara, the cult's founder, made him release three bags containing sarin instead of two in the 1995 Tokyo subway attack, because Asahara knew Hayashi doubted Aum's doctrines.
Among the five-cult members who allegedly released sarin in the incident that killed 12 commuters and subway workers, Hayashi allegedly released three bags of sarin, while the other four members released two bags. "Asahara appointed me to release an extra bag of sarin to put a heavier task on me, because he knew I was behaving negatively toward the cult," said Hayashi.
Prosecutors have claimed that Hayashi volunteered to release three bags of sarin when Hideo Murai, a former senior leader of the cult who was killed in April 1995, said that one of the five members had to release three bags since there was a total of 11 bags.
Besides his alleged involvement in the Tokyo subway attack, Hayashi is accused of being one of the cultists who took part in the deadly sarin attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in June 1994 as well as in the foiled cyanide-gas attack in Shinjuku Station a few months later.