Japanese trader falls to his death

Police are not discounting the possibility of foul play in the death of a Japanese businessman, who fell from the 14th floor of a condominium in Malate, Manila last Thursday evening.

The body of Imamura Kazuya, 57, was found on the canopy of the fifth floor of the Malate Crown Plaza Condominium by police. He sustained a broken skull and multiple broken bones as a result of the fall, according to investigators.

Officer-on-case SPO3 Diomedes Labarda said Kazuya arrived in the country last July 6 to put up a business. He was met at the airport by his Filipino driver Vedasto San Pedro and compatriot Jun Otsuka.

Kazuya initially billeted himself at the Diamond Hotel, but transferred at the Hyatt last Wednesday. The following day, the victim and his driver San Pedro went to the Malate Crown Plaza, where the Japanese reportedly wanted to put up a business.

After checking Suites 2 and 11 on the 14th floor of the condominium, the victim went to the terrace where he took pictures of the building and its surroundings. While clicking away with his camera, Kazuya apparently failed to notice that he was already at the edge of the terrace. He fell and landed on the fifth floor canopy.

Labarda said that apart from the driver, the victim was in the company of the condominium sales agent, a certain 2nd Lt. Maximo Lopez of the Air Force, at the time of the accident.

Police recovered from the victim’s possession a Nikon camera, a broken Rolex wristwatch and a cellular phone.

Western Police District’s Homicide Section chief Senior Inspector Ador Arevalo Jr. said San Pedro and Lopez would undergo polygraph tests at the National Bureau of Investigation to determine the veracity of their statements.

"The lie detector test will prove if the two witnesses are telling the truth. We want to be sure if there was no foul play," Arevalo told The STAR.