Japanese man wins 500,000 dollars for Bahamas jailing

NASSAU, Bahamas, Mar 11 (Reuters) A Bahamian court has ordered the Government to pay a Japanese man 500,000 dollars for keeping him in prison eight years without a trial.

The Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday that Atain Takitota was unlawfully imprisoned in August 1992, after arriving in Nassau from Osaka, Japan, and being granted permission to stay in the Bahamas for one week.

The only reason given for his detention was that he was an ''undesirable and his presence was not conducive to the public good,'' the judgment said.

While being held at Fox Hill Prison and Carmichael Road detention center, he attempted suicide three times, according to court documents.

The court awarded Takitota 400,000 dollars in compensation and 100,000 dollars in damages ''to show the strong disapproval of the courts for the conduct of the respondents in this case from the time of the appellant's arrest until this case is finally disposed of.'' He was released in 2000 and has been seeking compensation ever since.

Reuters PG VP0426