Fake finger gives 'yakuza' away

Fake finger gives 'yakuza' away

MANILA (AP): A Japanese yakuza gang member was sent back to Japan by Philippine authorities after they discovered he was using a fake finger to hide one that had been cut off, officials said on Tuesday.

Philippine immigration officers watch out for Japanese men with missing fingers, a sign of yakuza members, who often cut off a little finger as a sign of atonement for mistakes.

Hidemi Sugawara, who arrived at Manila's airport on Monday aboard a Japan Airlines flight from Narita, also had body tattoos, another sign of yakuza membership, immigration officials said.

They said an airport intelligence agent noticed that the color of Sugawara's left small finger was different from the rest of his skin, prompting suspicion that it was fake.

Yakuza gangs are involved in various underworld activities in the Philippines, including procurement of drugs, guns and women.