Thursday, June 24, 2004
Mitsubishi admits to injuries by Libero Hatchback
TOKYO: In another blow to its tarnished image, Mitsubishi Motors acknowledged that 11 people were injured in vehicles recalled recently for defects that the Japanese automaker previously denied had hurt anyone.
The 11 were injured when the rear door on the 1992 Libero hatchback slammed shut by itself, striking people's heads, Mitsubishi said, in a statement released on Wednesday. Some victims were hospitalized, suffering whiplash or needing stitches.
The company failed to disclose those injuries when it recalled the 1992 Libero this month because the accidents had occurred while the vehicle was parked, a spokesman said on condition of anonymity. The Libero was sold in Japan and Europe.
Mitsubishi Motors' image was battered four years ago when it acknowledged it had been hiding auto defects for decades. This year, the Tokyo-based automaker and its truck affiliate began announcing a series of recalls for defects it continued to cover up that affected thousands of vehicles.
Former and current Mitsubishi officials have been arrested on charges of professional negligence and other offenses resulting in death in two fatal accidents in 2002 involving Mitsubishi trucks in which wheel and clutch-system defects are suspected.
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. on Thursday said that the police are investigating the Tokyo truckmaker over six accidents since June 14, three of them fatal.
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