Hokkaido police search ski resort operator’s office over boy’s death
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Hinata Goto, a pre-schooler from Sapporo, died as a result of his clothing tightening around his neck.
PHOTO: KYODO NEWS
HOKKAIDO - Hokkaido police on Jan 6 searched the office of a ski resort operator following the death of a five-year-old boy on a moving walkway at the resort in late December.
Sasson in Otaru was searched on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death over the Dec 28 accident. The company has said no member of staff was stationed at the moving walkway, which links the carpark and the slopes, even though some users had fallen on it in the past.
The police said Hinata Goto, who lived in neighbouring Sapporo, fell near the exit of the walkway. His right arm and clothing ended up being caught in the mechanism and he died from asphyxiation after his clothing tightened around his neck. KYODO NEWS
