Kota Kobari appeared in court on January 19 for sentencing hearing.
Associate Justice Alexandra Foster sentenced Kobari to three years of imprisonment, all suspended except for six months.Kobari will start serving his sentence on January 26 at 6 p.m.He will be on work release during the six months incarceration period.The court ordered that while he is out in the community on work release, he may not drive a vehicle.After serving his sentence, he will be released to unsupervised probation.The court said that Kobari’s unsupervised probation should not serve as a bar to his deportation.The General manager of the Aqua Magic where Kobari is working as a dive instructor and the President of the Japan Club of Palau both submitted a petition in court to request for a light sentence for Kobari.Eiji Awata, Aqua Magic General manager and Yoshiyuki Yamazaki, the club’s president, stated in their affidavits that Kobari was an excellent diving instructor and was popular among the guests.The petitions stated that Kobari had showed great remorse and was really sorry for the family’s lost.The affidavits state that Kobari was on duty and was driving a guest back to the hotel when the incident happened.A court document also states that Kobari gave the victim’s family a financial assistance in the amount of $10,000 during the funeral services.The document state that Kobari went to the funeral to ask forgiveness and to express his regret when he hit and run and killed the 19-year-old victim.The document state that the family accepted the money and forgave Kobari.The victim, a student of Palau Community College and employee of Yuhi motel was on her way home and was walking towards the highway when hit by a vehicle driven by Kobari on the night of September 29.The victim landed approximately 14 feet away from the point of impact, the police affidavit submitted in court stated.Kobari was charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless driving, speeding and hit and run. He pleaded guilty to all his charges.
