A man who was released after a year in detention four days before he was due to be sentenced said Thursday that he hates police but blames himself for yielding to their intimidation and confessing to a crime he did not commit.
"I hate cops but I should blame myself first for confessing during interrogation," said the 51-year-old man, who had been detained in Ehime Prefecture since being arrested Feb. 1, 1999, on suspicion of theft. He now wishes to remain anonymous.
Police investigators believed he stole an account book in October 1998 and a seal two months later from the house of a female friend in Uwajima, and used them to take 500,000 yen out of her account in January 1999.
"This burly cop told me, 'You were caught on video at the co-op bank. The longer you deny it, the harsher your punishment will be.' My mind became a complete blank," he said.
The man said that after confessing he again started to plead not guilty just before his first hearing at the Matsuyama District Court's Uwajima branch, but police officers then applied extra pressure, demanding, "Why have you started telling lies?"
Prosecutors sought a 30-month prison term for the man in December and judges at the court named Feb. 25 as the day for sentencing.
But Ehime police learned earlier in February that another man, arrested on suspicion of robbery in neighboring Kochi Prefecture, had confessed to the Ehime case in early January.
The Ehime man was then released four days before he was due to be sentenced.
He said that although the police did not physically assault him, he is considering suing the local authorities for damages as a result of his psychological suffering.
The man's father died during his detention.