TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Toyota accepted the resignation of its Chief Communications Officer Julie Hamp, following her arrest in Japan for allegedly mailing banned painkillers to her address in Japan from U.S.
The 55-year old executive, the first non-Japanese to be appointed at the headquarters, has denied the charges and said she did not think she had imported an illegal substance. The 57 Oxycodone pills mailed to her address, along with a few jewelery, were reportedly to help her bad knee.
Oxycodone is widely available in U.S. on prescription for pain relief and suppression of cough. However use and possession of it is banned in Japan. It requires special permission to bring it to the country, even for medical purposes.
Accepting the resignation, the motor company's President Akio Toyoda said he believes Hamp did not intend to break the law. The company explained that it accepted the resignation because of the concerns and inconvenience that recent events have caused to the stakeholders. Police have raided the Toyota headquarters and two other offices in Japan after the arrest.
She was arrested on June 18 and has been in custody since then. It can be continued up to 23 days without bail, as per the Japanese law. If the charges are proved, she could face up to 10 years of imprisonment.
Hamp, a U.S. Citizen with rich experience with PepsiCo and General Motors, was appointed as part of ending the company's male-dominated Japanese line-up. Before moving to Japan she was working with Toyota's North American unit since 2012.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX