Singer who fled ill woman 'got scared'

Actor and pop singer Manabu Oshio, who was arrested Monday for allegedly taking Ecstasy, said he got scared and fled from a Tokyo apartment after a woman with whom he was using the drug became ill, police sources said Thursday.

The 30-year-old woman was found dead Sunday.

"She developed a health problem after taking the tablets. I got scared and left," Oshio was quoted as saying.

Oshio and the woman were in a luxury apartment in the Roppongi Hills business and entertainment quarter Sunday when he called his manager and left after the woman fell ill, police said. The police then received a report from the manager at around 9:30 p.m. Sunday and found the woman's body later.

Oshio was arrested after his urine was found to contain the synthetic drug, also known as MDMA, in a test conducted in connection with the woman's death.

An autopsy showed the woman died sometime between around 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday.

Investigators are looking into the actions of Oshio and his manager during the four- to six-hour period between the woman's death and the manager's call to the police, the sources said.

Oshio, an actor and lead vocalist for pop group LIV, told investigators the woman took a sudden turn for the worse after using two Ecstasy tablets, whereas he had taken one at her recommendation.