Murder suspect pleads not guilty
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Zheng Yongshan KYODO PHOTO
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A 35-year-old woman indicted on charges of killing two kindergartners in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, last year pleaded not guilty during the first hearing of her trial Feb. 2 at the Otsu District Court.
"I stabbed sand dolls, not humans," Zheng Yongshan, a Chinese national, told the court. "They did not bleed nor scream."
Defense attorneys said Zheng cannot be held criminally responsible as she was mentally incompetent at the time of the kindergartners' deaths. They said she has repeatedly seen a doctor in connection with schizophrenia.
Prosecutors argued that she was capable of taking responsibility as her motive and the process of her action were clear.
The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 10, 2007 (C) All rights reserved
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