Nassau| The Japanese man who was awarded a half a million dollars after being detained in prison died last month.
In August 1992, Atain Takitota traveled from his home in Osaka, Japan to Paradise Island, Bahamas.
After losing about $7,500 in a casino, he discovered that his luggage, including his passport and the remainder of his money, had been stolen. Bahamas police arrested him later that night.
He was subsequently held in a Bahamas prison for 8 years and 2 months, in part because he had amnesia and couldn’t tell Bahamas authorities who he was.
The only justification offered by those authorities for holding Takitota was that he was “an undesirable and his presence was not conducive to the public good.”
In November of 2002, the Bahamas Court of Appeal awarded Takitota $500,000 for his ordeal, saying that his being held for over 8 years was “particularly troubling.”
May his soul rest in peace.
