Vietnamese Technical Intern Arrested for Alleged Murder in Saga

Jiji Press

12:04 JST, July 28, 2025

Saga, July 28 (Jiji Press)—Police have arrested a 24-year-old Vietnamese man on suspicion of murdering a woman at a house in Imari, Saga Prefecture, southwestern Japan.

In the incident, which occurred on Saturday, Maiko Mukumoto, a resident of the house, and her mother in her 70s were stabbed with a knife-like object, leaving Mukumoto, a 40-year-old Japanese language instructor, dead and the mother injured.

The suspect, Dam Duy Khang, working in Japan under the country’s foreign technical intern training program, was arrested on Sunday. He told the police that he does not want to say anything.

An autopsy found that Mukumoto suffered multiple stab wounds on her neck and abdomen and that she died from loss of blood. The Saga prefectural police are investigating the suspect’s motive, believing that he had strong intent to kill.

The suspect, also a resident of Imari, allegedly broke into Mukumoto’s house around 4:20 p.m. on Saturday. He is suspected of threatening Mukumoto with a knife, stealing ¥11,000 in cash and killing her by slashing her neck.

According to the prefectural police, the suspect rang the doorbell, and when the mother opened the door, he forced his way into the entrance hall. He repeatedly stabbed Mukumoto and her mother while demanding money and their wallets. He then fled the scene with the weapon.

The mother fled to a neighboring house, and a resident of that house called the police. Police officers and emergency medical personnel who rushed to the scene found Mukumoto lying, covered in blood, in her house. There were signs that the house had been ransacked.

The mother was also taken to the hospital with cuts to her neck and other parts of her body. Her life is not in danger, and she explained that she did not know the man who attacked her.

The suspect was identified based on images left on the intercom.