The death of an American resident in Tokyo in a fatal bar fight late last month is not likely to result in any severe punishment being meted out due to the circumstances of the case, legal experts say.
Richard "Scott" Tucker, 47, died at Tokyo Metropolitan Hiroo Hospital after being punched and choked at Bullets, a nightclub in Tokyo's Minato Ward, on Feb. 29. Police arrested Atsushi Watanabe, a 29-year-old disc jockey at the club, for the fatal assault.
While some media reports have suggested the West Virginian visited the club to complain about the noise, a police official told The Japan Times on Tuesday that Tucker appeared "heavily drunk and acted violently toward other customers," at times striking a boxer's pose, on the night of the incident.
Watanabe has told investigators he attempted to halt the disturbance in his club "because (Tucker) was picking a quarrel with everyone," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Legal experts suggest such circumstances would likely result in Watanabe receiving relatively minor punishment.