Saito had established and continued to reap the benefits of an “honor system,” whereby he was free to roam the grounds unsupervised and everyone expected him to return to his unit at the end of the day, the report said.Īfter Saito’s escape, six hospital employees were placed on off-duty status. Patient counts were not conducted on the day Saito escaped because staff members didn’t have time to do them, according to an unnamed employee interviewed for the report. Lax oversight contributed to Saito’s escape and an 11-hour delay in reporting it, the report said. A nearly 1,600-page redacted copy of the report didn’t offer any significant details into how Saito was able to escape and fly to California before authorities were notified he was missing. Any reported incidents related to the hospital, patients and staff are taken seriously with appropriate actions in accordance with hospital policies and procedures.”Ī state attorney general’s office investigation found no single employee directly responsible for the escape. The state Department of Health issued a statement in response to Saito’s claims: “The safety of patients, workers, and the community is the highest priority at Hawaii State Hospital. “It is a milieu of ineptitude, abuse and malfeasance,” he said. He also accused the hospital of being unsafe, alleging that there has been rape, sexual abuse and death there. “It is important that they know I committed no sexual assault nor any desecration to Sandra,” he said. Saito expressed what he said has been on his mind for a long time: “sincere and deepest sorrow” for the Yamashiro family’s loss. “Your honor, the irony of having to commit a crime to prove that I was safe is not lost on me.” It was the only way to prove he can function safely in the community, he said.Īfter months of pondering, “I reluctantly decided to walk,” he said. “I did not elope from the hospital just to have fun,” he said. He apologized at his sentencing and attempted to explain his actions. Saito, 62, pleaded no contest to escape and identity theft charges in September.
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