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.