Cult must pay $8.6 million for gas attack
(12-25-97)The Associated Press reported in a story on Christmas, that the cult blamed for the 1995 subway nerve gas attack will have to pay $8.62 million to the survivors and the families of those killed.
According to the story, a court-appointed trustee for the bankrupt Aum Shinri Kyo cult set the amount after the Tokyo District Court ruled on a series of compensation lawsuits by victims earlier in the day.
With all the claims on its assets, the victims may only collect about 20 percent of the amount.
Forty-two people survived the attack and 12 people were killed on March 1995 when the it happened in the Tokyo subways were inundated with gas.
The cult had $18.77 million in debts against assets of $18.23 million at the time of bankruptcy, a court official said in the AP article.
Cult members have confessed to their roles in the sarin gas attack, and cult guru Shoko Asahara is currently on trial for murder in the case and previous killings. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
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