OSAKA (Kyodo) The Osaka District Court sentenced a man to 13 years in prison Friday over a fatal hit-and-run in Osaka Prefecture last year in which the victim, a 16-year-old newspaper delivery boy, was dragged for 6.6 km.
Tamotsu Ichikawa, 42, was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time.
"The court found no grounds for leniency as the defendant kept driving despite knowing he was dragging the victim just to keep the drunken driving incident from coming to light," presiding Judge Hiromichi Iwakura said in handing down the sentence at the Sakai branch of the district court.
Prosecutors had sought a 17-year prison term for Ichikawa.
His counsel, however, claimed a murder charge was inapplicable as Ichikawa was not aware he was dragging the victim, Tatsuya Higashigawa.
But the judge turned down the defense's claim, saying Ichikawa was willfully negligent as he kept driving while knowing Higashigawa could die because of his actions.
Ichikawa was drunk and fell asleep at the wheel, hitting Higashigawa, who was driving a motorcycle as he delivered newspapers in the early morning of Nov. 16, 2008.