A Chinese woman accused of masterminding the June kidnapping of a 6-year-old Chinese boy in Tokyo denied in court Monday that she planned the abduction and claimed she only helped the other four accused in the crime.
Wang Li, 25, who was a friend of the boy's mother, told the Tokyo District Court on the first day of her trial that she only provided information on the boy's family and that she didn't know the details of the kidnapping.
Four other Chinese nationals are on trial with Wang in the kidnapping. One of them, Wang Wenqin, 30, pleaded not guilty to the charge of assisting the abduction, while the remaining three pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors argued that Wang Li masterminded the kidnapping, telling the others they could get more than 10 million from the boy's parents, who had been overstaying their visas.
According to the prosecutors, the five conspired to kidnap the boy from a supermarket in Tokyo's Adachi Ward on June 6 and placed calls to his parents, demanding 15 million in ransom.
The boy was rescued unharmed two days later at an apartment in Yokohama.
His parents, who when their son was rescued reportedly drew praise for alerting police to the kidnapping, were subsequently charged with overstaying their visas, and the father was found guilty.