Fatherly love and crooked cops

More on the murder of young sumo wrestler by his stable master and fellow wrestlers:

(Stable master) Yamamoto publicly denied striking Saito inappropriately, though he did admit to striking him on the head with a beer bottle during dinner that day. He told reporters shortly after Saito's death, "This was an ordinary practice. How could you think I would do anything to hurt someone I consider my child?"

The sloppy, sleazy, investigation by what passes for law enforcement officers:

Initially, the boy's death was listed as "ischemic heart failure", until his family viewed his body. They say his body was covered in bruises, cuts and burns. They begged police to open an investigation, believing he'd been punished for trying to flee the stable.

They overlooked the severe bruising as the stable master claimed it was a normal result of training. Of course! And a beer bottle upside the head is just tough love by a gentle sadist---oops I meant father. Full article here.

The father made a curious statement:

"I do understand that the master's orders are absolute, so maybe they couldn't help it, but if they had reconsidered, this would not have happened."

The above is the English translation from JT Online and it is the second time I have seen it. Perhaps this is un-Japanese of me, but even though they were kids (17 or so) I would assume that they should have some basic knowledge of right and wrong. Then again, maybe this is normal in the sumo world. Come to think of it, it's like Fujiwara's perfect government. An elite tells you what to do and you do it. Your only right is to complain, but you still do it. Bushido?