A Japanese man who had been living in Thailand was arrested and charged for a murder he allegedly committed in 2003, when he was a boss for a sub gang of the Japanese yakuza. According to Fox News, Shigeharu Shirai was done in after somebody posted photos of his tattoos on Facebook. The photos of the intricate tattoos quickly went viral, and were eventually seen by Japanese police.
The police recognized the tattoos, and noticed that one of the photos showed Shirai was missing part of his little finger. According to the Strait Times, one yakuza custom was for "members often slice off the tip of a finger to atone for an offence." They notified authorities in Thailand, who sent a SWAT team to arrest the man. While in custody he "admitted that he was the leader of the Yakuza sub-gang Kodokai."
He is in the process of being extradited to Japan, where he will face charges for his alleged involvement of the murder of a rival in 2003. Police arrested eight other people involved in the murder and they were sentenced to 12 to 17 years in jail. Police were unable to track down Shirai who fled to Thailand in 2005, where he managed to stay under the radar for 13 years.
Photo: Facebook