Olympus in mourning as India boss Omori found hanged at Delhi home
A SENIOR executive at troubled camera firm Olympus issued an apology before apparently committing suicide outside his home in Delhi.
Tsutomu Omori, 49, head of the company’s medical equipment business in India, was found hanging, police said yesterday. His body was apparently discovered in a garden or park near his upmarket flat in the Gurgaon area of Delhi.
Handwritten notes in English and Japanese were discovered at his home, police said. The English note said “I am sorry for bothering you”, but the other has not yet been translated.
Lal Singh, investigating officer of Gurgaon Police said: “At this stage of the probe, it looks like he committed suicide. One of his company executives told us he was depressed for the last two weeks.”
There was no immediate suggestion the death of Omori, believed to have occurred late on Sunday night, was linked to the $1.7bn (£1.08bn) accounting scandal that has stunned corporate Japan, led to the arrest of senior executives in Tokyo and prompted the sacking of Michael Woodford, the British former chief executive, who acted as whistleblower.
An official at the Japanese embassy said the cause of Omori’s death is being investigated by the Indian authorities.
It comes in another turbulent week for Olympus with Western investors accusing its banks of trying to take control of the boardroom by stealth.
The firm’s major creditors have showed signs they may want to choose who fills the vacant seats on the board. More executives are set to resign at a shareholders’ meeting in April.