A police dispatcher who fielded 20 year-old pop star Mayu Tomita’s emergency call asking for help when she was being attacked initially sent officers to her home instead of the crime scene, according to local news reports. When Tomita, formerly of the group Secret Girls, called police to report she was being attacked at a concert venue in Koganei City, a police dispatcher failed to check the location of her cell phone and instead sent officers to her home.
Officers at a police station near the crime scene were dispatched after witnesses made emergency calls, taking about seven minutes to arrive from the time Tomita called for help.
Local media reported that Tomita was heard screaming for help when she called at 5:05 p.m. last Saturday. Witnesses reported the attack about a minute later at 5:06 p.m., saying a man was stabbing a woman in the neck using a knife.
Police believe Tomita made the emergency call between when suspect Iwazaki called out to her and stabbed her some 30 times. They had protocols in place to confirm the origins of cell phone calls so crime scenes can be located.
“A mistake was made, proper protocol was not followed in confirming the location of crime scenes…Moving forward, hopefully we can set up a system that automatically pinpoints locations.” authorities said.
Yesterday, the Liberal Democratic Party announced plans to establish a panel that will look into amending Japan’s Stalker Control Act to make obsessive messages on social media subject to regulation. The singer had earlier filed a complaint with Tokyo Metropolitan Police as Iwazaki is believed to have tweeted over 300 times about Tomita over a four-month period starting in January; and he had been persistently sending her messages over various social media.
The star remains unconscious in critical condition at a hospital.
