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THE bodies of a Japanese couple who reportedly committed suicide inside a resort hotel on Mactan Island were cremated yesterday at a downtown funeral parlor.
Mario Espracia, marketing manager of Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes, said relatives of Takao Ouchi, 70, and his wife Yukiko, 84, had authorized the Japanese embassy in Manila to have the bodies cremated.
Espracia said they received a fax letter from the Japanese embassy authorizing them to conduct the cremation.
Espracia said there were Japanese-looking persons who attended the cremation.
Their ashes will be sent to Tokyo, Japan, the couple's hometown.
Police earlier said there were no indications of foul play in the death of the couple.
Dr. Rene Cam, medico legal officer of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7), said the only injuries discovered during the autopsy were the rope marks on the necks of the couple, indicating that the cause of their death was asphyxia due to hanging.
Lapu-Lapu City police said a suicide note written in Nippongo was found in the room where the couple was found dead.
The letter, which was translated by an interpreter, said the couple decided to end their lives since they could no longer bear the ailment of Yukiko.
Rosemarie Enopeña, who previously worked as Takao's secretary, said Yukiko had been bedridden for years.
The Bureau of Immigration in Central Visayas (BI-7) said the couple had lived in Cebu since 2003 using the Special Residents Retirees Visa (SRRV)./CORRESPONDENT CHITO O. ARAGON
