60-year-old man dies after being tossed
How many people does it take to throw a 60-year-old man in the air? Apparently, not as many as it takes to catch him. It just goes to show that retiring from work isn't enough to escape the malice of coworkers.
Random Japanese funeral arrangement
According to reports, police have begun questioning colleagues of 60-year-old Seiji Sakumoto, who was hospitalized on November 18, 2007 when his coworkers hoisted him up in the air in celebration…then forgot to catch him. As a result of the fall, Sakumoto sustained neck and backbone trauma, paralyzation (loss of limb use), and respiratory failure. He died on September 2008 due to blood poisoning as a result of his injuries.
The wife has filed complaints accusing three of Sakumoto's subordinates of gross negligence. Police are now planning to establish a criminal case against them since they have already confessed to the allegations. More people are believed to have taken part in the incident, but seeing as how the majority of the attendees were drunk, the police may have a hard time getting others to even remember what happened, let alone admit guilt.
Representatives of the transportation company Sakumoto worked for in Ritto have replied saying:
"The accident was unfortunate, and we express our condolences over the fact that the man died. However, the farewell party was held voluntarily and as a company we have no particular comment."
While the mourning family maintains that this could have been prevented, perhaps this is simply a new retirement plan in testing for the company. With the economy in its current state of recession, instead of paying out benefits and having to buy cheap, gold-plated watches, maybe the company will just start offing their employees as they get older.
This is yet another reason to appreciate those bargain-basement retirement gifts.
