crime

12-yr-old girl taken into custody after burning down house

27 Comments

Police in Chiba Prefecture have taken into custody a child who allegedly burned down her house following parental neglect.

According to police, firefighters were called to a blaze at the 12-year-old girl's Abiko home at around 10 a.m. on Monday morning. TBS reported that investigators, searching for the source of the fire, which razed the building to the ground, learned that the girl had used a lighter to set fire to a sliding screen door leading to her parents bedroom.

The girl was taken into protective custody where she told care workers, "It was hot and I was irritated. I hate living with my mother."

TBS quoted police as saying that the 44-year-old mother's eldest daughter, 27, contacted the authorities in October last year to report that her mother had ceased to prepare food for the girl and had neglected all parental responsibilities. The girl was reportedly taken into care temporarily following the call, but then allowed to return to her parents.

The girl's parents were not home at the time of the fire.

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27 Comments
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Poor kid! She has a loser for a mother and an inadequate social services system, but now, she is the delinquent? Doesn't seem right to me!

16 ( +18 / -2 )

That's what I call a cry for help. I hope she gets the support she needs and deserve.

15 ( +17 / -2 )

The parents may have neglected her but she still should not have burned the house down.

-5 ( +5 / -10 )

Pity the other daughter couldn't have done more for her rather than, according to the story, just contact the authorities once. However, I don't know all the circumstances so.............

0 ( +2 / -2 )

So it was 'hot and (she) hated living with (her) mother, but she was "allowed to return home" after previously being taken into social services?

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Guess to avoid getting sent back home again she decided to burn it down

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Hard to imagine a 12 year old being bitter and angry enough to do something like that... she must have really hated her mum.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Thunderbird2 - she must have really hated her mum.

Somehow I think it was the other way around.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Article talks about parents but doesn't actually indicate the father had some responsibility over the girl; should we assume that it is accepted as a matter of course that the father should be having some of the teaching jobs that require his being out of home from 05:00 am to 9:00 pm? Or is it a case of a single parent?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Anyone remember the movie "Firestarter" - written by Steven King? It was the first thing that came to mind. I hope the government, and child welfare officials, do their jobs properly now and place the poor girl with a loving family - be they relatives or other. Please NOT an orphanage.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Woops, a little bit of itazura gone wrong.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

so the 27yr old sister, whom i assume is self sufficient, did nothing to help her sis out other than report the situation to the coppers?

where's the kinship?

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

the 27 year old sister called the police for proper social welfare. Its not her call to feed her sister.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Good job kiddo.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Do they have foster care in Japan?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

all she wanted was the love of her parents. so sad.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Even tho burning a house down is a bad thing to do. I say the girl did the right thing, if her parents was ignoring her all the time and not being a parent then so be your house be burn down.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

She probably didn't think she'd burn the whole house.

did nothing to help her sis out other than report t

It's the best she could do. As long as the 2 parents have the custody, she can't even talk to her sister without their agreement.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

So the mother had the eldest daughter at 17 and this one at 32. Last October, the mother neglected all parental responsibilities, what does that mean? Why? They also talk about parents, so what about the Dad? Social services took her, when? for how long? Why did they let her return? At the parents' request? or did they just abandon the girl? Seems that there are much more questions than answers here. Too bad the girl had to burn down the house to get help, maybe get help.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

according to japanese news, the mother got divorced to get money from the govt as a single mother plus probably welfare which can amount up to 300,000Y a month. She doesn't need the older one because she is beyond 18. However, it was told that she is living with a man.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

It always amazes me how you need to take a test etc to have a car, but go ahead, have as many kids as you like

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Bless her heart!

I hope more kids who are truly being abuse will follow this pattern!

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

According to J-news, dad was living in the house as well however the mom & dad had already been divorced long ago. Clearly the family has major issues. For those who are saying that the 27 year old daughter didn't do anything - I would not jump into the conclusion that she didn't do anything - she might have been feeding the younger sisters AND also reported the authority

1 ( +1 / -0 )

mom and dad divorced on paper to receive welfare. Mother receives welfare plus single mother allowance and kids allowance, dad works and get his salary. Its becoming common in Japan, cheating the system.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Actually, the J-news doesn't say the mother's EX-husband living together was the girls' father.. maybe he isn't the father.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

setting the house on fire is the last thing that should have been on her mind if it were too hot.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

The girl was reportedly taken into care temporarily following the call, but then allowed to return to her parents.

WTF???

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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