Japan Cult 'Murder Machine' Sentenced to Death

A key member of Japan's doomsday cult, dubbed a ``murder machine'' by the media for his crimes, including taking part in the deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subway, was sentenced to death on Thursday.

Tokyo District Court Judge Kiyoshi Kimura said former Aum Shinri Kyo, or Supreme Truth, cult member Yasuo Hayashi, 42, deserved the sentence because he released the largest amount of poisonous sarin gas in the attack, which claimed 12 lives and injured thousands.

Prosecutors charged that Hayashi was directly responsible for the deaths of eight people by carrying three plastic bags of the deadly gas onto a packed commuter train. He released the gas by puncturing the bags with the sharpened tip of an umbrella.

Hayashi was also charged with other crimes, including taking part in a separate gassing the previous year.

Hayashi was the second cult member to receive the death penalty.

People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/