M31

Morotai Trial M31 was an Australian war crimes trial held on Morotai between 31 January and 1 February 1946. The case concerned the murder of three Royal Australian Air Force airmen, Packham, Jones and Benson, who were captured after their aircraft crashed in Japanese-occupied territory during the Second World War.

Three members of the Japanese military were charged in connection with the killings. The prosecution alleged that one of the captured airmen was beheaded with a sword on the orders of Warrant Officer Matsumoto, the second-in-command of the Kempeitai. At the conclusion of the trial, all three accused were convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. This page summarises the charges, the accused, the sentences imposed and the surviving archival records, including the Judge Advocate General's report.