Japanese ‘killed’ by wife, her ex-lover for refusing to give P120K that he promised

A 72-year-old Japanese national was found dead with his hands and feet tied with a masking tape inside the bedroom of his rented house in Barangay Yati, Liloan, Cebu early morning on November 25, 2023. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The brutal death of a Japanese national inside his bedroom in Liloan town in northern Cebu was said to have been orchestrated by his own wife and her former common-law partner.

According to Arnel Pura, National Bureau of Investigation Cebu District Office (NBI-CEBDO) agent-in-charge, the wife became furious after Doug Hiroshi Sugawara, 72, failed to give the P120, 000 that he promised as a gift before they wed in April.

Of the amount, P60, 000 was to be used for a family outing while the remaining cash will be used by his wife to start a business.

“Nagsaad siya sa ako ba. Pero dili lang ni siya nga saad, mao ra ni iyang saad sa akoa. Daghan siyag saad… Sakit man sad gyud sad sa akong buot nga sige siyag saad nya wa niya gituman ba. Ang pinaka-[sakit] nako nga part kato bitawng nagsaad siya nya nakasaad na ko sa laing tawo especially sa akong pamilya kay naghandom na pud sila ba,” the wife said in an interview with dyHP Cebu.

Making matters worse, the Japanese national allegedly told the wife that if she wanted divorce, she should be the one to push for it and shoulder the cost, which became her tipping point.

CDN Digital is withholding the name of the wife and the other suspect as per request by the NBI-CEBDO.  The agency wanted to file formal charges against the two first before they would make their names public.

Pura said that they now have custody of the wife and the other suspect, whom they arrested Friday night, December 8, while in hiding in Cagayan de Oro City.

The arrest was made after the wife also confessed to her involvement in the crime.

Killing was planned

According to Pura, the wife admitted that she had planned to hurt Sugawara when he did not give the P120, 000 cash that he promised.

During the interview, the wife confessed that she worked with her ex-partner to make the incident look like a burglary case.

Sugawara was found lying on the floor of the bedroom that he occupied in their rented house early morning on November 25.  His hands and feet were tied with a masking tape.

The wife, previously claimed that her husband may have been robbed before he was killed. She also claimed to have lost her sling bag which contained her wallet with P1, 200 cash and assorted identification cards.

But NBI agents eventually uncovered the truth behind Sugawara’s death.

Authorities nabbed a man who allegedly beat Sugawara until he died.  | CDN Digital photo / Paul Lauro

On Friday evening, Dec. 8, NBI-CEBDO Mandaue arrested the second suspect in Cagayan de Oro City.

According to Sugawara’s wife, she had separated with the second suspect, a backhoe operator whom she had three children with, for two years now.  But she contacted him recently to ask for his help.

She told him that she planned to “hurt” the Japanese national and make the lower part of his body paralyzed for her to be able to take charge of running the activities in their home.

“Lain akong paminaw ba, maluoy ko. Mao to nga nakahuna huna kog tawag sa mga papa sa [akong] mga bata kay kahibalo man ko nga dili siya mobalibad sa ako kay naa pud siyay problema sa iyang pamilya. Tabangonon pud,” she said.

Night of the incident

According to the wife, she let her former partner enter their house on the evening of November 24.  She told him to beat her husband until his legs become paralyzed.

But she did not expect her former partner to beat her husband to death.

“Basta ang importante nga nisulti ko sa tinuod kay di kaya sa ako konsensya,” the wife said. 

In a separate interview with dyHP, the other suspect said that he did not intend to kill Sugawara.  But he said that had to hit the Japanese national hard because he was trying to fight back.

When Sugawara died, the wife said that she tried to cover up the crime as she regretted what they did.

How they met

The wife said that Sugawara, whom she met online in October 2022, was a kind person.  After exchanging messages for over five months, she decided to accept his wedding proposal and married him in April 2023.

The wedding ceremony was held in Liloan, Cebu.

She admitted that she did not marry the Japanese national out of love.  She decided to start a future with him after he made a promise to support her three children who are still 5, 6, and 9-years-old.

According to her, Sugawara would give her P3, ooo to P5, 000 allowance per week which she would also send to her children who are now staying with her parents in Cagayan de Oro.

Both suspects are detained at the custodial facility of the NBI-CEBDO Mandaue as of this writing.

According to Pura, a parricide charge will be filed against the victim’s wife while a murder charge will be filed against her former partner.

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