It happened in the northern country.
A female teacher at Lu Village Primary School had finished her vacation and returned to her dormitory on the east side of the school playground.
After using the toilet, she sat on the kang and, out of habit, glanced down at the drainpipe.
That casual glance made her spine turn cold.
Deep inside the toilet pipe, a shoe seemed to be faintly visible.
This old-fashioned rural pit toilet had a huge U-shaped pipe. One side connected to the indoor toilet, while the other led outside to a collection opening about in diameter.
Cleaning crews periodically pumped the waste out through this opening.
Overcome by unease and curiosity, the teacher left her room and went to inspect the collection opening outside.
The sight before her made her hair stand on end.
The opening's lid had been lifted.
When she summoned the courage to look inside, she saw a pair of unmistakably human, pale feet.
Terrified, the teacher immediately called the police.
The police and fire department quickly arrived at the scene, but they soon faced a problem.
The pipe was too narrow. There was no way to pull the person out.
After repeated attempts failed, the rescuers had no choice but to use heavy machinery to dig the entire toilet pipe out of the ground, then cut it in half with a power saw.
When they split open the pipe, the truth was revealed in a manner both deeply humiliating and horrifying.
Inside was the body of a nearly naked man, curled up tightly.
The deceased was quickly identified as Naoki Nono, a local resident who worked as a sales manager for a company providing services to the Shimamura First Nuclear Power Plant.
He was a young executive, aged.
Why had he died in such an undignified position, in such a filthy place?
The police investigation and autopsy that followed
