Former Mitsubishi Motors Corp. President Katsuhiko Kawasoe and three others were charged Thursday with negligence resulting in a fatal accident in 2002 involving a truck built by the automaker, prosecutors said.

The indictment comes as the detention period for Kawasoe, 67; Yuzo Murata, 66, former director of MMC; Takashi Usami, 63, former vice president of MMC and former chairman of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp.; and Tatsuro Nakagami, 61, former executive director, expired that day. The four were arrested June 10.

The four were top brass at MMC in 2000, when the company was found to have covered up vehicle defects that would have necessitated recalls. The Yokohama District Public Prosecutor's Office believes they are criminally responsible for authorizing the concealment of defects in MMC vehicles even after the coverup scandal broke, sources said.

Two other MMC officials were also arrested, but prosecutors decided not to indict them, judging their involvement in the case did not warrant further action against.