Tokyo - Two members of a Japanese doomsday cult were sentenced to death yesterday for murder and attempted murder for a 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo underground in which 12 people died.
Tokyo District Court Judge Manabu Yamazaki said former cult members Toru Toyoda (32) and Kenichi Hirose (36) deserved the death penalty for their role in releasing Sarin nerve gas in an incident that injured thousands.
A third man, Shigeo Sugimoto (41), who drove a getaway car, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Yesterday's ruling completes the sentencing of the five members of the Aum Shinrikyo, or Supreme Truth cult, who had been charged with spreading the gas.
Another key member of the cult, Yasuo Hayashi (42), was last month sentenced to death. Ikuo Hayashi (53) was sentenced to life in prison because he had co-operated in the ensuing investigation.