CHIBA-- Koji Takahashi, the guru of mummy-making cult Life Space, should be put away for 15 years in jail for murdering one of his followers, prosecutors at a Chiba court demanded Thursday.
"Takahashi's actions were selfish and cold-blooded. His motive for the murder was cruel and he has shown no remorse," a prosecutor said during his closing argument at the Chiba District Court.
The Life Space guru is accused of killing follower Shinichi Kobayashi, who was seriously ill, by snatching him from a Hyogo Prefecture hospital and letting him die at a hotel in Narita in 1999. Takahashi's defense team is arguing that Kobayashi died of natural causes and that there is nothing in this case which constitutes murder.
When the mummified body of Kobayashi was discovered by police officers, Takahashi and Kobayashi's son, Kenji, who is also member of the cult, insisted that he was still alive.
Former accountant Takahashi attracted followers by claiming that he possesses miraculous healing powers and accused police of killing Kobayashi by barring him from treating his mummified corpse.
In a separate trial, prosecutors have demanded that the son be jailed for four years for dragging Kobayashi out of hospital and then failing to provide necessary care to his ailing father, causing his death.
The verdict on Kenji will be handed down at the district court on Friday.