Senior Aum member gets 15 years

Kyodo News/July 5, 2002

Tokyo -- The Tokyo High Court on Friday sentenced a former senior Aum Shinrikyo cult member to 15 years in prison for several counts of attempted murder, including a 1995 attempt to kill the governor of Tokyo with a parcel bomb. The decision overruled a lower court ruling that had given Masahiro Tominaga, 33, an 18-year prison term.

"The lower court's decision to give the defendant an 18-year prison term is too heavy because he had shown remorse by paying 4 million yen compensation to the victims of the bombing incident at the Tokyo metropolitan government building," said Presiding Judge Shogo Takahashi. (Kyodo News