The president of an animal leasing firm in Machida, western Tokyo, was sentenced Tuesday to a suspended two-year prison term in connection with the death of an employee who was mauled by a Bengal tiger in February.

Motosaburo Ikeda, 71, was found guilty of professional negligence resulting in death, and was also fined 500,000 yen by the Hachioji branch of the Tokyo District Court. Prosecutors had demanded a two-year sentence.

Presiding Judge Masahiro Hiratani criticized the insufficient precautions taken by Ikeda's firm, noting the iron cage in which the 3-year-old male tiger was kept was made for holding large dogs.

"The incident was a result of placing greater priority on pursuit of profit than the lives of employees, and your criminal responsibility is grave," he said.

However, the sentence was suspended for four years in consideration of the defendant's age as well as the fact that compensation negotiations with the family of the victim have been completed.

According to the court, Masaru Watanabe, 25, was bitten in the neck by the tiger as he tried to feed it on the morning of Feb. 3. He died of shock stemming from excessive blood loss. The tiger was killed by lethal injection.

The mauling occurred because Ikeda allowed the beast to be kept in a facility where employees could come in direct contact with the tiger, the court said.

The court also ruled that Ikeda violated laws dealing with the trade of a species listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

He failed to secure Environment Agency approval when purchasing the tiger from an animal dealer in Chiba Prefecture in October 1997, the court said.

On Monday, the Hachioji branch also found two animal dealers guilty of the same charge and handed them suspended sentences.