The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan showed its hope that the case related to the murder of a 9-year-old Vietnamese girl last year will be handled strictly and a proper sentence will be given to the murderer.

Yasumasa Shibuya, a 46-year-old Japanese national, is accused of murdering Le Thi Nhat Linh, a third grader living in Matsudo town. (Source: Asahi Shimbun/VNA)

Nguyen An Tien, First Secretary in charge of community issues at the embassy made the statement on June 4. Tien was also present at the trial for Yasumasa Shibuya, a 46-year-old Japanese national, which began on the same day.

Shibuya is accused of murdering Le Thi Nhat Linh, a third grader living in Matsudo town.

During the trial, he continued rejecting the accusation, saying that evidence provided by the procuracy office is counterfeit.

The trial is forecast to be prolonged with debates focusing on clarifying whether evidence is persuasive enough to charge him with the murder.

Le Anh Hao, Linh’s father, said that the biggest aspiration of the family is to find out the truth. If proved to be guilty, the perpetrator must receive the highest penalty.

Linh disappeared shortly after leaving her home on foot for her school on March 24, 2017. Her body was found two days later in Abiko, Chiba. She is thought to have been choked to death, based on marks found on her neck.

Shibuya was arrested on April 14, 2017 on suspicion of dumping Linh’s body. The same day, Japanese police served a new arrest warrant on the man, charging the suspect with murder and abandonment of the victim’s body, after tests results showed that DNA taken from Shibuya matched those of samples found on the victim’s body.

Shibuya was head of the parents' association at the elementary school in Matsudo which the victim attended. He lives about 300 metres from the victim's home.-VNA