The Tokyo District Court sentenced architect Hidetsugu Aneha to five years in prison Tuesday and fined him 1.8 million yen for fabricating earthquake-resistance data on six condominiums and hotels.
Wrapping up a trial that has been in the media spotlight for four months, presiding Judge Masaaki Kawaguchi handed down a stern sentence, denouncing Aneha, 49, for a crime he called "vicious" and "unprecedented," and one that endangered many lives.
Kawaguchi, instead of meting out a suspended sentence as some predicted, sent Aneha to prison so he could "grasp the gravity of the crimes he committed."