Hideaki Asada

Hideaki Asada, 41, president of Asada Nosan Co., had been instructed by his father, the chairman, not to release information about the possible infection at the poultry farm in Tanba, police said.

Asada's father, Hajimu Asada, 67, and mother committed suicide March 8. Police sent papers on the father to prosecutors over the bird-flu coverup.

Kyoto Prefectural Police on March 31 arrested Asada, Masaaki Morita, 53, a former board member of the company, and Katsuhiko Nozaki, 45, who was in charge of the farm's coops, on suspicion of violating the Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control Law.

The three were allegedly aware around Feb. 22 that the chickens were possibly infected with avian flu but did not alert authorities.

Asada allegedly told investigators that his father told him to tell employees that the chickens were dying of enteritis.

The outbreak came to light Feb. 27 after an anonymous caller alerted local authorities of the large number of chickens dying there.

The Japan Times Weekly: April 10, 2004
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