The Saitama District Court on Wednesday ordered two beneficiaries to return the payout from an insurance policy taken out on a Saitama Prefecture man who was believed murdered.
The court ordered 33-year-old restaurant employee Mayumi Take, and Takako Morita, a 39-year-old former financial company employee, to pay back up to 180 million yen to Nippon Life Insurance Co.
According to the court, the insurance company paid out 180 million yen following the death of Shuichi Sato, 45, who prosecutors said was poisoned by moneylender Shigeru Yagi, 51, and three female accomplices, including Take and Morita.
Sato was allegedly served a sweet-bean bun laced with a fatal amount of monkshood herb on June 3, 1995, at his house in Honjo, Saitama Prefecture.