Prosecutors on Tuesday turned over to a family court two 16-year-old Nagoya boys accused of playing key roles in allegedly extorting 54 million yen from a 15-year-old boy, attaching a rare opinion that the accused deserve to be tried in a criminal court rather than in a family court.
The Juvenile Law stipulates that those under 16 years old are exempt from criminal punishment, but a criminal court is likely to hand down stiffer punishments if they are found guilty.
The boys in question were 15 at the time of the extortion allegedly took place and their arrest.
Prosecutors are seeking harsher penalties because the pair allegedly pressured the boy to pay them money on about 80 occasions over a period of eight months starting in June, sources said.