Three 14-year-old males arrested over the weekend on suspicion of beating a homeless man to death in northern Tokyo were turned over to prosecutors Monday, police said.
The second-year junior high school students along with a 13-year-old allegedly assaulted Kunihiko Suzuki, 55, on several occasions Friday in the Higashi-Murayama area after the homeless man reportedly scolded and hit three of the youths the previous day at a library for making noise.
Police have notified a juvenile counseling office of the 13-year-old's suspected involvement. By law, children under 14 cannot be held criminally responsible for their actions.
Investigators said the four went to the park Friday at 6 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. to fight with Suzuki.
The four returned to the park a third time at around 9:20 p.m., this time along with several other boys, and beat him for 90 minutes, including striking him with clubs, police alleged.
The four boys reportedly told investigators they didn't think they would kill Suzuki. They also said the boys who joined them at the park did not take part in the attack, but police suspect they did and are searching for them.
Suzuki was pronounced dead at a hospital early Saturday.
The youths said that during the assault, they had shouted that Suzuki had struck them first, investigators said.
Police said they found a wallet at the scene and identified one of the boys from his game center membership card.
On Monday, the principal of the suspects' junior high school urged some 600 students to respect the value of human life.
The boys dragged the man, who had been sleeping in a makeshift tent, to an open area some 10 meters away to beat him, police said.