Vietnamese Technical Intern Trainee Arrested for Robbery-Murder After Mother and Daughter Attacked in Imari, Saga
This article organizes publicly available information into a single account. Where it describes an arrest or an ongoing investigation, that reflects only one stage of criminal procedure and does not mean guilt has been established (the presumption of innocence applies). We will update this article as new information becomes available, including the outcome of prosecution, non-prosecution, or trial. This article is not intended to unfairly disparage any individual, group, nationality, ethnicity, or belief, and aims to provide objective, fact-based information.
On July 26, 2025, the Saga Prefectural Police arrested Dam Duy Khang, a Vietnamese national technical intern trainee working at the JA Foods Saga food processing plant in the city, on suspicion of robbery-murder for allegedly attacking a Japanese-language teacher with a knife at her home in Imari, killing her, and injuring her mother. He is believed to have broken into the home intending to steal cash and valuables.
As a serious crime committed by a technical intern trainee, the case had a major social impact, prompting his employer, JA Foods Saga, to issue a formal apology. Although the incident occurred in July 2025 — before 2026, the period this site mainly covers — we are featuring it as emblematic of safety-management challenges surrounding the Technical Intern Training Program. Current status: The case is at the arrest stage; whether prosecutors will indict him had not been determined as of this writing.
Robbery resulting in death (the latter clause of Article 240 of the Penal Code) carries only the death penalty or life imprisonment as statutory punishment, making it one of the most severe offenses under the Penal Code. The case is exceptional in scale for a crime committed by a technical intern trainee, and it also raised questions about the oversight systems of supervising organizations and host companies, as reflected in employer JA Foods Saga's formal apology.
Another serious case in which a technical intern trainee was the perpetrator — a string of attacks on coworkers in Fukuoka City (related coverage) — was reported in 2026.