Country ordered to pay damages for sailor's suicide

[David]

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government will have to pay damages to the parents of a sailor who hanged himself after being repeatedly insulted by his superior, in the first such court ruling involving a civil servant, media said.

The Fukuoka High Court in southern Japan ordered 3.5 million yen ($32,000) be paid to the parents of the petty officer third class, a court spokesman said, declining to give further details.

Kyodo news agency said the court recognized that the sailor's suicide had been caused by depression, a result of stress accumulated from insults such as: "You are not qualified as a petty officer third class" and "Are you dumb?"

The sailor had been 21 when he committed suicide aboard a destroyer in 1999, it said.

A lower court had ruled in the government's favor, saying the remarks from the sailor's superior had fallen within the scope of training, Kyodo added.

"It is disappointing that the court did not understand the state's claim," an official at the defense ministry quoted Vice Defence Minister Kohei Masuda as telling a news conference.

"We will closely study the decision and deal with it appropriately."

Japan's defense ministry has been hit by a string of scandals in recent years, including cases of bribery and security leaks.

Cases of bullying in companies and in schools have also made headlines in recent years.