DIAL M FOR MURDER

[AussieMark]

Dial M for murder: Japan arrest

POLICE have arrested a Japanese man who confessed to having hired a stranger to kill his wife by sending him e-mails from his cellphone, a police spokesman said today.

Hiroshi Kawashita, 34, was arrested yesterday with newspaper deliveryman and putative hitman Makoto Isokawa, 33, on charges of attempted murder, a day after Isokawa broke into Kawashita's house in Moriyama, 350km west of Tokyo.

"The two suspects had never met personally, but the plot developed as Isokawa posted a message seeking a good way to make quick money on an Internet bulletin board for mobile phone users," the local police officer said.

"Kawashita responded, saying 'I will pay 30 million yen ($390,649) if you kill a female target,"' the official said, adding Kawashita did not tell the other man that the "target" was actually his wife.

Isokawa picked up a backpack left by Kawashita near a railway station on Tuesday to do the job. The bag contained the address and pictures of the woman, a key to the house, a dog's lead and hundreds of thousands of yen (several thousand dollars).

Isokawa used the key to get into the house and assaulted Kawashita's wife, 34, when she returned home, police said.

He choked her with the lead after assaulting her with a stun gun he had brought along. She escaped the attacker and ran into a neighbour's house to seek help. Isokawa was caught by neighbours and confessed to police.

Police have yet to confirm Kawashita's motive, but the woman, who was identified only as a part-time worker at a miscellaneous goods shop, had life insurance of nearly 100 million yen, the official said.

"The motive may not be so simple, but Kawashita is in debt and was not on good terms with his wife," he said.

[stormy]

what a sick world we live in. what has happen to us??