Drugged woman dies in Osaka love hotel, companion arrested

OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police on October 17 arrested the male companion of a 41-year-old woman who died inside a love hotel in Naniwa. The woman had previously consumed an aphrodisiac purchased by the suspect that rendered her nearly comatose, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Nov. 12).

Early that morning, the man, 40, departed a room of the hotel without calling an ambulance even though the woman was vomiting, experiencing repeated diarrhea and in a weakened state. He has been charged with abandonment resulting in death or injury.

The couple had checked into the room at around 9:00 p.m. the day before. Hotel staff members entered the room the following morning when the guests did not check out and discovered the woman.

The suspect told police that the drug, purchased at a shop in Osaka, was a so-called “law-evading drug,” which is a synthetic substance whose chemical structure is similar to drugs that have already been banned.

“When I gave her the liquid, which I heard gives a pleasant feeling, her physical condition worsened,” the suspect told police.

In the current Diet session, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare intends to modify the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act in order to contain the spread of these synthetic drugs.