A former forensic staff member in Saga has been indicted for committing DNA testing fraud, with the prosecution highlighting the malicious nature of the offenses.
Saga District Public Prosecutors have indicted a former employee of the Saga Prefectural Police Forensic Science Laboratory for DNA testing fraud, which will now be scrutinized in a public court trial. At a press conference held on the 27th, Deputy Prosecutor Hitoshi Aono noted the high value of punishment based on the malicious nature of the accused’s actions. However, the former staff member's position on the charges has not been disclosed.
The indictment includes all 13 cases that the police deemed "highly malicious" and forwarded for prosecution. Deputy Prosecutor Aono elaborated that in nine of these cases—related to the creation and use of false public documents—the accused fabricated documents by falsely claiming that DNA tests had been conducted, despite no results being obtained. This deceptive act is seen as highly malicious as it directly impacted the integrity of DNA testing.
Furthermore, four other cases of evidence tampering have been reported where the accused allegedly replaced forensic materials with different items to falsify evidence. This overarching fraud not only autopsies the justice system but could also undermine public trust in forensic science and the legal proceedings that rely on accurate DNA evidence.
