A hacker who issued false death threats via hijacked computers has been sent to jail for eight years in Japan, according to a report by the Japan Times.
Yusuke Katayama tricked police into making wrongful arrests and allegedly force false confessions out of his victims, after sending threats of attacks on comic book events, a school attended by grandchildren of the Japanese Emperor Akihito, and a plane.
Defence lawyer Hiroshi Sato said: "[Katayama’s] deeds, in a way, are a form of pleasure-seeking crime, one that’s symptomatic of this Internet age, where people somehow frustrated with their lives no longer stab or punch somebody directly to vent their anger.
"They instead turn to the world of cyberspace, where they deceive strangers and take grim satisfaction in watching them suffer."
Katayama, aged 32, was formerly an IT professional, and had sent ten remote threats to victim’s machines which resulted in four arrests, two of whom are said to have made false confessions.
Sato attempted to downplay the culpability of Katayama in the four arrests by focusing on the police, and even argued for leniancy on grounds of mental health – a plea that was rejected by the court because of lack of evidence.
The hacker had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges, but later changed his plea after he was caught burying a phone used to construct an alibi. He has yet to decide whether to appeal the decision.
