A 46-year-old Japanese man who was extradited from Argentina to Japan last year, has been sentenced rtf 20 years in prison for killing his former Chinese girlfriend in 2010.

The Yokohama District Court handed down its verdict Wednesday against Tomoyasu Takiya, Fuji TV reported. Takiya had denied any intent to kill his former girlfriend, Shi Jieying, 40, who was found strangled to death in her apartment in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, in August, 2010.

Prosecutors said convenience store surveillance camera footage showed Takiya using the victim’s cash card to withdraw 10,000 yen from the store's ATM after her death. He left Japan before the victim's body was discovered and was put on the international wanted list.

His whereabouts remained a mystery until he was seen in Buenos Aires in early March of 2017. After Takiya was extradited from Argentina, he was arrested upon his arrival at Tokyo's Haneda airport on March 24, 2017, and initially charged with stealing a cash card belonging to the victim. He was later charged with Shi’s murder.

Takiya’s lawyers said he had defended himself after Shi attacked him with a knife, but said he had no prior intent to kill her.

© Japan Today