The man accused of murdering Wexford native Nicola Furlong has been refused release, according to The Sunday World.
Japanese officials are refusing the release of Richard Hinds, despite the fact that he reached the end of his minimum five-year term two months ago.
The decision came after prison documents, obtained by the paper revealed he had failed to rehabilitate in prison.
As a result, it is now open to authorities to keep him detained until November 2020.
Nicola's Dad Andrew has expressed his satisfaction with the decision and expressed the hope that the accused will stay in prison for the maximum 10-year term allowable.
"The thought he could have been out living his life at 24 years of age was sickening to me," Andrew said.
Nicola, a 21-year-old Wexford student was found strangled to death in Hinds' room in the Keio Plaza hotel in Tokyo on May 24, 2012.
James Blackston, a 23-year old dancer, was jailed for a sexual assault on Nicola's friend.
