Japanese teacher says Hilo still safe
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — An official at a Japanese college here said last week's mugging of 16-year-old student was an isolated incident that should not affect Hilo's reputation overseas.
Head teacher Tomomasa Hyakuna said news of the robbery has shocked people at United Hawai'i College, but he still feels Hilo "is a very safe city."
The college, formerly known as Urawatandai, is visited annually by 800 high school and junior college students from Japan seeking to sharpen their English skills.
The teenage victim in Friday's mugging had arrived just four days earlier from Saitana, north of Tokyo.
Hyakuna said the boy, who suffered scratches and scrapes on his legs and arms in the assault, wanted to return home immediately but was persuaded to stay for a weekend excursion to Hapuna Beach in South Kohala.
The student came back from the field trip smiling and is going to complete his program before flying home, Hyakuna said.
Police have charged Marcus Anthony Winkler Jr., 20, of Miloli'i, and Keo Samuel Janto, 18, of Hilo, with the robbery. The two remain in custody, unable to post bail.
The robbery happened around 5:45 p.m. Friday on Kapi'olani Street near the college. The muggers took the student's backpack and its contents valued at $170.
Hyakuna, who has lived in Hilo the better part of 10 years, said students have been advised not to wear backpacks and to carry only small amounts of cash.
Police Lt. Derek Pacheco said he doesn't believe that foreign students are being targeted by thieves. He characterized the mugging and the Feb. 17 murder of another Japanese student as "crimes of opportunity."
A 16-year-old from Honolulu has been charged with the murder of University of Hawai'i-Hilo student Tetsuya Takahashi, 20, of Fuchu City, whose body was found in Kea'au in Puna.
Ruth Robison, director of International Student Services at UHH, also does not perceive a pattern in the two crimes. The university is hoping to expand enrollment of foreign students from almost 3,000 to 5,000 by 2007. "One of our attractions has been that Hilo is a safe place for foreign students," she said.
