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The story
A tabloid magazine has reported that Shinji Saito (43), formerly of the comedy trio “Jungle Pocket,” held a large banquet at a Yamagata Prefecture yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) restaurant just one week after prosecutors demanded a seven-year prison sentence against him. Reports described him looking thoroughly pleased with himself as he polished off A5-grade beef, sparking astonishment on 5channel’s “Whatever’s On” (Nanademo Jikkyou) board, with users asking, “Where’s this guy getting the confidence right after a sentencing demand?” Since a sentencing demand is not an actual verdict and Saito remains out on bail, he does technically have the freedom to do as he pleases—but opinions split between those worried this could hurt his standing with the court and those pointing out that it’s fairly common for celebrities to hold farewell parties before entering prison, citing the example of Takafumi “Horiemon” Horie.
Ex-Jungle Pocket’s Shinji Saito Held a Big Banquet in Yamagata One Week After Prosecutors Demanded a “7-Year Sentence”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
He's probably rich enough to just buy off the judge. Politicians do it all the time.
What is this guy even talking about.
Can you really stay that composed knowing you're about to go to prison?
Of course he will. He'll probably get knocked down about 4 years on some excuse like "he's already suffered enough social punishment."
He's claiming he's innocent, so there's no remorse to show in the first place.
Or maybe he's just not right in the head… Guess comedians really do think differently from regular people.
Well, when an ordinary person throws a party, it doesn't make the news.
He's out on bail, so he can spend time outside, even if there are some restrictions.
Right now it's still just the prosecution saying "give him 7 years"—the actual verdict is still a ways off.
He's got a family to support, plus he wouldn't be able to sell his baumkuchen anymore.
He can't—surely they've made sure he can't leave the country.
Maybe it's harder for famous people to run, or something like that. Not sure though.
His face is way too recognizable, so the odds of him fleeing are extremely low.
Once it actually turns into prison time, there's no coming back publicly. Even that Arai guy only gets random theater troupe gigs now.
This is kind of hilarious.
FRIDAY (the tabloid) writes such entertaining stuff, like with that Kiyota story too. Gotta hand it to tabloid magazines.
Tashiro keeps screwing up over and over and still works, even if he can't appear on TV. Well, I guess he could always go crying to Matsumoto.
Doesn't seem like they're even connected, and Matsumoto himself isn't really appearing on TV these days anyway.
I mean, this is going to drag on from the sentencing demand all the way through a High Court appeal anyway.
Totally forgot about the Yonsen Toshin side of that mashup.
Background and Key Points of This Story
A “sentencing demand” is simply the punishment prosecutors are requesting; the actual “verdict” is handed down separately by the court, so there’s typically a gap between the demand and the final sentence—several commenters on the thread predicted he’d end up with a suspended sentence. A defendant who has been granted bail after indictment is also entitled to live a largely normal life under certain restrictions, meaning imprisonment is not yet a done deal. Some in the thread speculated that celebrities are granted bail more easily because they’re less likely to flee, and pointed to Takafumi Horie holding farewell parties before his own imprisonment as evidence that such gatherings aren’t unusual for public figures ahead of serving time. At the same time, plenty of commenters worried that a lavish banquet held right after the sentencing demand could hurt his standing with the court, leading to a good deal of amateur back-and-forth over how the sentencing might actually play out. Note that Saito is reportedly contesting the charges against him, so the details of the demanded sentence remain disputed, and the final verdict has yet to be handed down.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Nanademo Jikkyou board) thread “Ex-Jungle Pocket’s Saito Turns Out Totally Unfazed — Throws Big Banquet at BBQ Joint After Being Hit With a 7-Year Sentencing Demand wwwwww.”
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