Jap dies after suffering difficulty in breathing

A 57-year-old Japanese businessman failed to make it to the hospital after he was found by his 19-year-old girlfriend with having difficulty in breathing inside the comfort room of their rented room in a downtown hotel.

Police identified the foreigner as Shigeyama Toshio, a native of Tsukimino Yamato-Shi Kanagawa-Ken, Japan and temporarily staying at the hotel.

SPO3 Alex Dacua said that based on the woman's account, Toshio has been frequently visiting her and would stay for two months in Cebu before going back to Japan.

Dacua said the woman, a first year college student, told him that Toshio, whom she claimed was her lover for over three years, went inside the comfort room to take a bath.

While sleeping on the bed, the woman noticed that Toshio was not at her side, prompting her to check the comfort room where she found him lying on his back and having difficulty in breathing.

She immediately sought for an assistance from the hotel's front desk clerk who in turn called up the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation. The ERUF personnel, led by Raul Quijano, then rushed Toshio to Chong Hua Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Dacua told The FREEMAN that they are now coordinating with the Japanese consulate to inform Toshio's family in Japan about his death and for the Japanese authorities to retrieve his belongings in the hotel.

Police will also ask the consulate to have Toshio's body autopsied to determine the cause of his death. - Edwin Ian Melecio/LPM