<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The war crimes trial of </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/japan" rel="" target="" title="Japanese general Hitoshi Imamura"><span>Japanese general Hitoshi Imamura</span></a><span> by an </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="Australian court"><span>Australian court</span></a><span> ended on </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" rel="" target="" title="May 16, 1947"><span>May 16, 1947</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Imamura was accused of presiding over a series of terrible crimes, including what became known as the "pig-basket atrocity".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Allied troops in what is now </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/indonesia" rel="" target="" title="Indonesia"><span>Indonesia</span></a><span> were put in tiny cages intended for pigs by Japanese troops.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-april-26-what-happened-on-this-day-chernobyl/6234f768-fbe3-4c5d-98ef-e8a3342ce509" target="" title="Three volunteers stepped up for task they were told would kill them"><strong><span>Three volunteers stepped up for task they were told would kill them</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The perceived intention of the grim execution was to frighten Indonesian locals from getting involved in guerilla activities.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They were then thrown into the shark-infested waters off the coast.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Imamura was given a ten-year sentence for his role in the crimes.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-may-16-what-happened-on-this-day/a5ec9842-f878-48d7-bf79-5b5cce819570" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the general was appalled by the sentence, which he considered to be too lenient.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He had previously asked the court to hasten their trial so more troops that were under his command could be convicted more quickly.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For eight years, he was locked up in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/prison" rel="" target="" title="Tokyo's Sugamo Prison"><span>Tokyo's Sugamo Prison</span></a><span>, where the most high-profile war criminals of Japan were kept.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/today-in-history-may-13-what-happened-on-this-day-ben-carlin/96d8cca3-9989-4b73-a5e8-c744954b1795"><strong><span>Australian adventurer circumnavigates the globe in a modified Ford</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His sentence was served alongside </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/pearl-harbour-mastermind-hideki-tojos-remains-final-location-revealed/767f3e66-54e3-4f17-9500-ecc1226e12ab" rel="" target="" title="Prime Minister Hideki Tojo"><span>Prime Minister Hideki Tojo</span></a><span>, who was tasked with serving food to his fellow prisoners in the lead-up to his execution.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Imamura was released after eight years behind bars.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Finding the light sentence disgraceful, he returned to his home and had a replica of his prison cell built in his garden.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For the rest of his life, Imamura lived in the backyard cell as a self-imposed punishment for his crimes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He died in 1968.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-may-14-what-happened-on-this-day-albert-stevens-radiation/3a02dec9-faca-4cbe-8e8d-2dae510d7ae8"><strong><span>House painter never told he was given enormous dose of plutonium</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" target="" title="For more from our Today in History archive, click here."><strong><span>For more from our Today in History archive, click here</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here 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