The sister weeps for her brother who died while in custody in Japan for a theft.

The life of another young Sri Lankan, who set foot in Japan with the dream of building a future in the land of Sakura, has been forever silenced on a cold bed in a police detention cell.

Hewamanage Vichakshana Supasan, a 22-year-old youth residing in Beliatta, Mahahilla area, who was held in police custody in Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, unfortunately passed away on May 19th. According to Japanese media reports, a security officer on patrol noticed that his snoring had stopped and he was having difficulty breathing during the daytime on that day. Although immediate steps were taken to hospitalize him, hospital authorities confirmed that he had already died by then.

The most shocking aspect of this tragedy emerges from the serious allegations made by the deceased youth's sister, Satyani Shakya. She alleges that despite her brother pleading for treatment for two months, the police did not provide him with any medical assistance, and that this was a murder committed by the police without directly killing him. She states that when she went to see her brother on the day of his death, she saw his entire body cold, his tongue yellow, and his lips and mouth discolored. She has expressed through social media, weeping, that no justice has been served for her brother yet.

"Oh, everyone who can help me at this time, please help me... The people at Tsuchiura police killed my brother without directly killing him... Still, no justice has been done for my brother. My brother passed away on 2026.05.19 🥺😣 Oh, it's 2026.05.22 today..! I still haven't received any report about my brother. I went to the Tsuchiura police station around 2 PM on 2026.05.21 after that." My brother's sudden death is suspicious to me. How did that happen to him? He was in police custody, wasn't he? So, did the police neglect him???

I told them to record my complaint..! I need a thorough investigation into this! Isn't there any justice for my brother? No matter how much I pleaded with those people, they didn't record my complaint and kept me waiting until 5:30 PM, saying, "What you're asking for cannot be done today, come tomorrow morning." Oh, so I went again at 9 AM the next day. I had also requested a Sinhala translator the day before. But they had brought a Japanese woman, and oh, that person didn't even know some Sinhala words..! 🙂

I said I needed a different translator. Those people told me to come next Monday..! From whom can I ask for justice, my God...🥺😣😣🙂 Oh, no justice is being done for my brother from anywhere...! Oh, everyone who can, please help me in any way you can... I'll be indebted to you, please..🥺😖🙏🏻🙏🏻 Be my strength to get justice for my brother...!!!🙏🏻😖"

Vichakshana, who went to Japan in 2023 to study a technical course, was arrested last February. Although some reports indicate that the arrest was made based on an accusation by a shop owner that he had stolen goods with a group of friends, the Sri Lankan Embassy in Tokyo states that the Japanese authorities have not officially informed them of the real reason for the arrest. Authorities confirm that the young man had not given consent to inform the embassy at the time of his arrest, but nevertheless, full support is now being provided through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact family members and facilitate the repatriation of the body at a diplomatic level.

The Japanese police, stating that there are no external injuries and therefore it cannot be suspected as a suicide, plan to conduct an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. However, the fact that the sister, who went to complain about the death, was made to wander for several days with a translator who did not know Sinhala inside the police station, raises serious questions about the functioning and transparency of Japanese law. This tragedy once again awakens the dark memory of Wishma Sandamali, a young Sri Lankan woman who unfortunately died in 2021, vomiting blood without proper medical treatment in a Japanese immigration detention center.

Another young life, which flew across the great ocean for a better tomorrow, has forever faded away without a sound amidst the cold four walls of law and humanity.

Watch the video related to this incident ›