Woman Accused of Sewing Housemate's Lips Together

Police in Japan say a woman's lips were literally sewn shut inside a shared home northeast of Tokyo. Authorities in Ibaraki Prefecture arrested 49-year-old Masae Sakurai on Monday, accusing her of stitching together the lips of a 42-year-old woman who had been living with her for more than a year, reports the Japan Times. The victim told police she'd been too afraid to leave before the June 29 incident, but escaped the next day to a nearby shop and silently sought help with a written note, per the South China Morning Post.

The woman had been pierced with a needle at spots below her nose and lower lip, with a thread passing through the inside of her mouth, the Telegraph reports. She reportedly told police Sakurai had become "angry over a trouble." Police are investigating whether others in the house witnessed what happened; one acquaintance recalled seeing several women and a teenage boy there in November. A former co-worker said Sakurai had claimed to be looking after young women who had nowhere else to stay. Sakurai's response to the allegations has not been disclosed.