Shizuoka man poisons girlfriend with tobacco stew

SHIZUOKA (TR) – Shizuoka Prefectural Police on Friday announced the arrest of a 22-year-old male for forcing his girlfriend to eat a stew containing a lethal dose of tobacco in Shizuoka City, according to the Shizuoka Shimbun (Aug. 8).

At approximately 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, Takahiro Kondo, a manager of a fuzoku (sex-related) parlor, held a knife to the woman, 23, and forced her to consume the stew, which contained nicotine from 20 cigarettes, and a sleeping pill inside the residence they shared.

Police discovered the concoction after the woman was rushed to a hospital after consuming it. Consuming a broth made from two cigarettes can be fatal, police said.

Kondo, who faces charges of attempted murder, has denied the allegations. “We intended to commit suicide,” the suspect told police, according to the Sankei Shimbun (Aug. 7).

While in the hospital, the victim vomited and fully recovered from the poisoning.

The couple had been living together for several years prior to the incident.