OSAKA -- A man indicted for murdering a Chinese woman at a Tokyo hotel in December was served a fresh arrest warrant Monday on suspicion of embezzling 50 million yen from his former employer.
The move by the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office comes in response to a criminal complaint filed against Katsuhiko Kawaguchi, 59, by his former employer in Osaka Prefecture, according to sources.
Kawaguchi was in charge of accounting at the company, which is engaged in iron-related business, the sources said. He allegedly embezzled the money over a long period by manipulating the account books before disappearing several years ago, they said.
Kawaguchi was indicted in January on charges of strangling Liu Chang, 27, at a hotel in the Kabukicho district of Tokyo on Dec. 22.
Kawaguchi began dating Liu in June, according to the police. After Liu's death, Kawaguchi was reportedly admitted to a hospital after attempting suicide at his apartment in Meguro Ward, Tokyo.
When he was arrested Dec. 29, Kawaguchi allegedly told police that he had quarreled with Liu and had killed her after she asked for money to return to China.