Japan woman gets death for curry murder

Japan's Supreme Court sentenced a woman to death today for killing four and making more than 60 ill by poisoning a large pot of curry at a summer festival in 1998, a case widely covered in domestic media.

The incident shocked Japan, where crime rates are relatively low and mass killings extremely rare.

Public broadcaster NHK reported the Supreme Court upheld a lower court death sentence on Masumi Hayashi, 47, for the crime that took place in the western Japanese city of Wakayama.

The Supreme Court called the crime "cruel and despicable", NHK added.

Prosecutors said Hayashi became enraged after being shunned by her neighbours and put arsenic in the curry when she was alone in the garage where it was being prepared, Japanese media said.

Hayashi has denied being involved in the deaths in recent interviews with several domestic media outlets.