Japan's former top authority on hemophilia, who is at the center of an HIV infection scandal involving the death of more than 500 hemophiliacs, will be back in court in one month to hear whether he is to be held legally responsible for the death of one of his patients in 1991.
The Tokyo District Court is expected to hand down its ruling on Takeshi Abe, 84, former vice president of Teikyo University in Tokyo, on March 28. He faces a charge of professional negligence resulting in death after allowing the use of HIV-tainted unheated blood products in 1985 despite being aware of the danger they posed.
Prosecutors are demanding a three-year prison term for Abe, who has pleaded not guilty to the charge but did not offer a detailed explanation of his actions during the three-year trial, citing health reasons.