Overturning a lower court ruling, the Tokyo High Court on Thursday reduced the prison sentence of the wife of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara to six from seven years for her part in the lynching of a former cult member in January 1994.
Tomoko Matsumoto, 41, was found guilty of approving the killing of Kotaro Ochida, 29, who was strangled by a fellow former cultist inside an Aum complex in the presence of the guru, his wife and other senior members of the group. The Tokyo District Court sentenced Matsumoto to seven years in prison in May 1998.
The presiding judge, Tadaharu Kanda, called the whole incident an antisocial and cruel act, saying that former Aum member Hideaki Yasuda was forced to kill Ochida under threat of his own life though the victim screamed for mercy.