TOKYO: A Japanese court is set to hand down a verdict on the killing of British bar hostess Lucie Blackman on Tuesday, nearly seven years after her death.

The Tokyo District Court will open the closely-watched trial at 10:00 am (0200 GMT) and is expected to soon render a judgment on former property developer Joji Obara, a court official said.

Obara, now in his mid-50s, has pleaded innocent, arguing he did not intend to kill Blackman. He is charged with abduction, assaults resulting in death, mutilation and abandonment of a corpse, but not actual murder. Prosecutors are seeking the maximum life in prison.

Blackman, 21, disappeared in July 2000 while working as a hostess in Tokyo's seedy Roppongi district, hoping to earn quick money to fund a trip to Australia. Obara allegedly lured a number of women back to his seaside condominium where he drugged and then had videotaped sex with them.

The murder triggered outrage in both countries, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair personally raised the case during a visit to Tokyo. Memories of the Blackman case were revived last month after the corpse of 22-year-old British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker was found in suburban Tokyo.—AFP