- My son who goes to school in Meguro-ward is a perpetrator of bullying. He got arrested for intimidation by Himonya Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department…
- My son forced his ex-girlfriend to get back together with him in Akihabara. He was arrested and detained on suspicion of compulsion by Manseibashi Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department…
- I asked a convenience store staff to apologize for his response and forced him to bow oneself on the ground. I am afraid if I would get investigated and arrested by Akasaka Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department…
1. Punishment of Intimidation & Compulsion
When arrested and detained for intimidation or compulsion, a perpetrator could be subject to the following criminal punishment.
| [Intimidation (Article 222 of the Penal Code)] Punishment: imprisonment with work for not more than 2 years or a fine of not exceeding 300,000 yen. [Compulsion (Article 223 of the Penal Code)] Punishment: imprisonment with work for not more than 3 years. |
★There is no sentence to pay a fine for compulsion. This means that you will not receive summary order and pay a fine, but you will come to a formal trial if you prosecuted.
2. Intimidation (Article 222 of the Penal Code)
The crime of intimidation is a crime of noticing the following (a) & (b) to someone, and intimidating the other.
(a) A threat to another’s life, body, freedom, reputation or property (Article 222(1));
(b) A threat to the life, body, freedom, reputation or property of the relatives of another (Article 222(2)).
‘Intimidation’ in the term of the crime of intimidation shall be serious enough to make ordinary people frightened.
Therefore, even if one threatened the life, body, freedom, reputation or property of another, the crime of intimidation may not be established when the threat was not enough to make ordinary people threatened.
Examples of the words of threatening include “kill you”, “tell the police”, “make a complaint”, or “bring a suit”. There is a case law to decide that an act of sending a card saying “I would like to express my sympathies for fire breakout. Be careful with fire.” fell into the crime of intimidation.
3. Compulsion (Article 223 of the Penal Code)
The crime of compulsion is a crime of causing another to perform an act which the other has no obligation to perform, or hindering the other from exercising his/her rights by intimidating through a notice of the following (a) & (b) to the other, or by use of assault.
(a) A threat to another’s life, body, freedom, reputation or property (Article 223(1));
(b) A threat to the life, body, freedom, reputation or property of the relatives of another (Article 223(2)).
A legal precedent permits the establishment of compulsion concerning a case that the accused had a 13-years-old girl kept holding a bucket full of water for minutes or hours.
There is also a case that a customer got arrested for compulsion because the customer tried to accuse a staff at bowling center of having bad service and enforced the staff to bow himself on the ground.
The crime of compulsion is a primary type of crimes against freedom of action.
For that reason, where unlawful arrest and confinement (Article 220 of the Penal Code), forcibly indecency (Article 178 of the Penal Code), extortion (Article 249 of the Penal Code) is established, these crimes have a priority over compulsion so that the crime of compulsion will not be established.
~Defense Activities in Case of Intimidation & Compulsion~
1. Apologizing toward the Victim and Settlement with the Victim
When arrested or investigated for intimidation and compulsion cases, paying for the damage and negotiating for settlement may be effective measure.
It is because that the victim accepted apology and compensation and agreedwith the settlement leads to early resolution of a case.
If the out-of-court settlement was made in intimidation and compulsion cases, a public prosecutor may decide not to prosecute the suspect. Once the public prosecutor decides not to prosecute him/her, the suspect basically will not face a criminal trial, nor will he/she have criminal records.
Even if the suspect faces a criminal trial, the fact that the out-of-court settlement with the victims was made would be considered as the circumstance for the accused. That could lead to suspended sentence avoiding prison sentence.
Because the victim of intimidation and compulsion cases feels frightened by intimidation or assault by the suspect, it is often the case that the suspect him/herself has a difficulty in giving an apology toward the victim or carrying out a settlement with the victim.
Moreover, the suspect would get arrested or detained as the direct contact of the suspect with the victim is considered as an act of concealing or destroying evidence.
If you admit the fact of intimidation or compulsion, and want to apologize toward the victim and negotiate the settlement with the victim, we recommend you consult or ask lawyers dealing with lots of criminal cases as soon as possible. Early response will lead to expeditious settlement of a case.
2. Where Deny Intimidation and Compulsion Case
Where the suspect denies the fact of intimidation and compulsion case, or it is considered that an act does not fall into the crime of intimidation or compulsion defined in the Penal Code, the lawyer provides with the best defense activities for the suspect. For example, the lawyer scrutinizes the way the investigative authority sees and its assertions, accurately points out that they do not rest on the fact and evidence, and works to operate the suspect’s advantage.
The lawyer also organizes the assertions of the suspect, collect the evidence to support his/her assertions.
The lawyer does defense activities to take a decision not to prosecute or acquittal in by evaluate the statements and evidence adequately.
If you are investigated or arrested on suspicion of intimidation or compulsion even though not having committed the crime of intimidation or compulsion, please come to consult with our lawyers of AICHI Criminal Cases Law Firm.
