Japan's Supreme Court upheld death sentences for two...

Japan's Supreme Court upheld death sentences for two Chinese men found guilty of a 1992 triple murder and robbery at a pachinko parlor in Tama, western Tokyo.In handing down the ruling on Chen Daiwei, 41, and He Li, 37, Presiding Judge Toshihiro Kanatani said they bear grave responsibility for the crime and the death penalty is the only fit punishment.According to the Supreme Court, the case is the first in which death penalties given to foreigners have been made final by the court. Chen and He stabbed to death three employees at the pachinko parlor and stole about 2.3 million yen in May 1992, according to lower court rulings. The two, both from China's Fujian Province, arrived in Japan in 1988 on student visas. But the visas expired by May 1992 and they were staying in Japan illegally at the time of the crime, according to the earlier rulings. The Hachioji branch of the Tokyo District Court sentenced them to death in December 1995 and the Tokyo High Court upheld the ruling in January 1998. The two had filed an appeal with the top court, saying the death penalty was too severe a punishment. Chen denied being involved in the murders, while He said he had no intention of killing the employees.