Police probe ‘mysterious’ death of Japanese woman in Bangladesh

Police are investigating the death of a Japanese woman in ‘mysterious circumstances’ in Dhaka.

Hiyori Miyeta, in her 60s, had been living in Bangladesh ‘illegally’ and was involved in the readymade garment business, police say.

A Japanese embassy official filed a general diary with Uttara East Police Station on Nov 19 saying Miyeta had been missing for three weeks.

Police later learned that she had died on Oct 29 and was buried at Banani’s city corporation graveyard.

After initial investigation into the death and ‘secret’ burial, police accused six men over the murder, Uttara East Police Station’s OC Abu Bakar said.

Police officers, who declined to be named, told bdnews24.com that they had arrested several persons for questioning.

Media reports say Miyeta lived alone at a hotel in Uttara and had maintained contact with her mother over phone.

She last spoke to her mother on Oct 26 and went missing after that.

The reports, quoting police, said Miyeta had not renewed her visa after it expired in 2006.

Her friends arranged an apartment for her at Bashundhara residential area after she failed to pay her overdue hotel bill.

She died of diarrhea in the apartment on Oct 29, her local friends said.

They said they did not take her to hospital since she had been living in Bangladesh illegally, but they had informed her mother.

A media briefing by police on the matter scheduled for Monday was cancelled due to “unavoidable” reasons.

An investigator, declining to be named, said: “We are investigating whether the woman had died of natural causes or was murdered.”