Murdered Briton's family in Japan for sentencing

(REUTERS)

The family of Lindsay Hawker, an English teacher who was murdered in Japan, flew out yesterday to see her killer sentenced, having called for him to be given the "heaviest punishment" possible.

Tatsuya Ichihashi, 32, admits to raping and strangling the 22-year-old but insisted that he did not intend to kill her. He subsequently went on the run for two years. Miss Hawker's parents, Bill and Julia, and sisters, Lisa and Louise, flew into Tokyo yesterday. Mr Hawker told reporters: "We expect to get the judgment we are hoping for."