Brazil court upholds murder verdict

RIO DE JANEIRO (Kyodo) A Brazilian court of appeals has rejected a petition to cancel a Brazilian man's 34-year prison sentence for murdering and robbing a restaurant owner in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, in November 2005, a judge said Wednesday.

The court in the state of Minas Gerais has upheld the conviction of Humberto Jose Hagime Alvarenga, 37, for killing Kaname Mikami, 57, and stealing ¥40,000 worth of cash.

"The evidence found by the well-conducted investigation carried out by the Japanese police is enough to confirm that he has committed the crimes and therefore I deny the appeal and maintain the previous conviction," said the judge in charge of the case.

The judge stressed the defendant, who has denied all the charges, confessed to having dinner at the restaurant on the night the crime was committed and claimed he even paid the bill before leaving.

"The investigation has proved he was the last customer to be served that night and the police have found his fingerprints on the plastic bag used to suffocate the victim," the judge said, adding the police found no record of the bill that he claimed to have paid.