Police find no foul play in Japanese couple's death

CEBU, Philippines - The director of Lapu-lapu City Police Office Sr. Supt. Mariano Natuel yesterday confirmed there was no foul play involved in the death of a Japanese couple in a beach resort in the city last Wednesday.

Sr. Supt. Natuel, chief of Lapu-lapu City police station said investigators did not find any sign that would suggest that the room was broken into.

"Paralytic na ang asawa unya murag feel niya nga hopeless na siya mao siguro naka- decide nga magpakamatay. Gi-assist pa gani siya sa iyang bana," Natuel said.

Natuel said a suicide note, translated by the couple’s friends, showed that both of them intended to commit suicide.

Takao Ouchi, 70, was a former television commercial director, and wife Yukiko Ouchi, 84, was a former television scriptwriter.

Takao’s body was found hanging by the neck from a curtain cord inside the comfort room. His wife’s lifeless body was on the bed, said Insp. Christian Torres, chief of the station 4 of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office.

Torres said no one was seen visiting the couple and that there were no signs of struggle inside the room.

Torres said the Japanese couple have been living in Cebu for almost a decade and a Filipina friend was the first to arrive at the hotel upon receiving news of the alleged suicide.

Torres said the Filipina friend identified as Marilou Inofenia claimed that the couple previously talked about committing suicide.

The Japanese woman, who was reportedly suffering from an illness, had tried to commit suicide twice.

Torres said Inofenia also told investigators that the couple had planned to die together after the wife’s failed suicide attempts.

Inofenia said the couple wanted to have a last honeymoon before ending their lives, said Torres.

The couple checked in at the resort last Monday noon and was supposed to check out on Wednesday noon. When they both failed to check out, resort personnel opened the door and found the bodies, Torres said.

The couple had been staying in an apartment in Cebu City for about nine years. They were retirees from Japan and relied on their pensions. They had no children, according to information the police gathered from Inofenia.

Torres said Inofenia told police that the couple wanted to be buried in Cebu as they had no one in Japan who would claim their remains. —Gabriel C. Bonjoc