OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court dismissed a damages suit Friday filed by two men who were tried and acquitted of beating a 21-year-old man to death in 1995.
The two men, aged 24 and 26, were together seeking 30 million yen in compensation from the national and local governments, as well as from Osaka Prefectural Police officers, claiming they suffered mental distress from unjust treatment.
They maintained that police fabricated statements and pursued the criminal case against them without confirming the facts.
Presiding Judge Yukihiro Taniguchi dismissed the plaintiffs' claims and said police and prosecutors had grounds to suspect the two were involved in the killing.
The victim died after being attacked by a motorcycle gang in the city of Suita before dawn on April 23, 1995.
The man had spat on the bikers from a pedestrian bridge because he was angry at the disturbance they were causing, the court said.
Osaka Prefectural Police placed the two men in custody based chiefly on testimony given by their associates. The pair, who were minors at the time, apparently had close ties to the motorcycle gang.
The 24 year-old man was convicted in his first trial but acquitted by a high court in May 1997. The 26-year-old man was acquitted in his first trial in April 1998.