
A Japanese pearl expert has been found dead under suspicious circumstances on a small island off Java, local police said Monday. The body of the 49-year-old Torao Inagaki, who worked as a consultant at a pearl cultivation center, was found Saturday evening on the coast of Ngrembeng Island, located in a bay off the town of Trenggalek in East Java Province. Police suspect he might have been murdered in view of injuries found on the back of his head and bruises around his neck. Evidence was also found to suggest he might have been dragged to the coast and thrown into the sea. A couple of days before he was found dead, Inagaki had reported seeing two men trying to enter his office, while an hour before the discovery of his body, a fire occurred in his office, police said.