Japan teenagers held over attack on homeless man

TOKYO, Aug 6 (Reuters) Five Japanese teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of trying to kill a homeless man by setting him on fire while he was sleeping on a park bench in Tokyo, media reported today.

The five, including two high school students aged 15 and 16, are suspected of placing a plastic bag full of oil on the man and igniting it with a lighter, a Tokyo police spokesman said.

''Homeless people are garbage,'' Kyodo news agency quoted one of the five as telling police. ''They are the worst people and don't contribute to society. They are the same as dogs and cats.'' The 52-year-old man sustained serious injuries in the attack in mid-May, the police spokesman said. Kyodo said the boys had repeatedly harassed homeless people in parks, setting another homeless person's sleeping bag on fire the same month.

Media reported earlier this year that Japan had about 18,600 homeless people, about 30 per cent of whom said they were on the streets for economic reasons such as bankruptcy or unemployment.

Reuters SW DB1246