Shoku Asahara

The doomsday cult leader on trial for last year's fatal gas attack on the Tokyo subway was ordered Monday to pay $939,000 to the parents of a cult member beaten to death during religious training. The parents of 25-year-old Teruyuki Mashima brought the suit against Aum Supreme Truth leader Shoko Asahara for the 1988 beating, apparently by cult followers, a Tokyo District Court official said.

The doomsday cult leader on trial for last year's fatal gas attack on the Tokyo subway was ordered Monday to pay $939,000 to the parents of a cult member beaten to death during religious training. The parents of 25-year-old Teruyuki Mashima brought the suit against Aum Supreme Truth leader Shoko Asahara for the 1988 beating, apparently by cult followers, a Tokyo District Court official said.

In a madhouse scene, Japanese police early today arrested Fumihiro Joyu, the suave spokesman and de facto leader of Aum Supreme Truth, who has consistently denied cult involvement in a deadly terrorist attack on Tokyo subways. Hundreds of reporters and gawkers jostled outside Supreme Truth headquarters as a thick formation of police armed with riot shields hustled Joyu, wearing a helmet and blue jacket, into a waiting van.