crime

5 students arrested after putting glue on playground equipment

31 Comments

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Juvenile Division has arrested five high school students on suspicion of vandalizing public property in a park last month.

According to police, the vandalism occurred at Yoshikata park in Tokyo’s Inagi City on March 7, Sankei Shimbun reported. Playground equipment was coated with carpenters' glue for bonding pieces of wood.

Police on Wednesday arrested the five suspects ― three 16-year-old boys and two 17-year-old boys. Police said the students have admitted to the charge. The boys told police they did it because they thought it would be fun.

Surveillance camera footage taken in the park showed the five boys committing vandalism at around 2:40 a.m. on March 7. In addition to putting glue on a slide and other playground equipment, the boys sprayed the adhesive inside public toilets.

Police said they have also admitted to stealing the glue from a construction site around 700 meters from the park.

Similar incidents were reported at two parks in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture from August to October last year.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

31 Comments
Login to comment

Rebels without a cause!

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Most of us were Young and have done something not to be proud of.

5 ( +13 / -8 )

Kids doing something stupid but why does it have to make national headlines? Saw this on the news yesterday as well. Like.......really? Slow news day, hey? Other than Corona, what else do we have?

13 ( +17 / -4 )

”Malicious Intent to cause Injury” to children - a FELONY!

Vandalism’ is a lesser charge. Add the ‘breaking & entering’/ nighttime burglary & theft’ from a commercial business and send these five (2: 17yr olds) ‘to prosecutors’. They need time in a juvenile correctional facility to rehabilitate before they can renter the school system with our children

- “...they did it because they thought it would fun.” -

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

Repeat offenders? ‘Copycats’ to post on ‘social media?

“Similar incidents were reported at two parks in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture from August to October last year.”

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I sure do hope that the charges stick and that their bond is set high.

10 ( +14 / -4 )

The boys told police they did it because they thought it would (be) fun.

They could be out playing sports, looking for girls, singing karaoke... but no, putting glue on playground equipment is more appealing. These boys need to learn how to have fun!

5 ( +7 / -2 )

The boys told police they did it because they thought it would fun.

Moderators/Writers: Despite having three verbs, this sentence requires one more (hint: be).

Moderator: Thank you for pointing that out. It has been fixed.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

We were officially obliged to return home ultimate latest at midnight, at the age of 16 or 17. (and before 10pm at the age of 14 or 15, 8pm under 14) But we also sometimes tried to extend...of course without glue or a clue. lol

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Boys will be Boys!

"5 students arrested after putting glue on playground equipment"

2 ( +4 / -2 )

The boys told police they did it because they thought it would be fun.

Yep, fun to have a criminal record which will stick to you for the rest of your life and more than likely restrict your employment opportunities to being a labourer in the construction industry.

-1 ( +7 / -8 )

Harry, my feeling is that those 16-17 years old roaming parks at 2 am were heading towards that direction anyways.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

The boys told police they did it because they thought it would be fun.

It sure would be fun if they'd glued themselves to the toilet seat!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Although totally stupid, especially if repeated, no on was hurt and they had fun for sure.

They need their parents and themselves have pay fines to pay back full cost of their idiocy.

Done.

And most of the time, it is a bad move to make it on the news as youth loves to copycat. Building sites are warned !

By the way, I have no idea what type of glu machine that is.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

It does not say whether it was quick-drying or slow-drying, and what the purpose would be, since either way the glue would have dried before any kids came out to play. To make a slide less slippery? Vandalism at best.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

So glad to live in a country where anti social teens make national news for such minor infractions. In my country it would be for violence, and murder,

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"The boys told police they did it because they thought it would be fun."

That's fine. Teach them how to clean glue from things and have them clean up their mess. And while they're at it, they can work to pay back the costs of all that stolen glue.

A little bit of community service sounds exactly like what these kids need.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Disagree @nandakandamanda 11:10am

“...either way the glue would have dried before any kids came out to play. “Vandalism at best.”

Not just ‘a stupid prank’. It’s “Maliciousness, at least.

(NOT to give these ‘deviants’ more ideas but,...)

In Edinburgh, Jan of last year, someone coated public toilets & facilities twice, at a public museum and a theatre, with ‘*a clear, construction-grade adhesive’. **When a mother pulled the child’s panted legs** upward to change the underpants, the material from the snowsuit tore away, stuck to the table.*** Fortunately, the toddler’s skin was not torn.

The defenders of ‘childhood pranks’ (17 years old!) ALL would be ‘singing a different song’ here today if these brat’s scheme had not been caught before harm came to a child.

Regardless of intent and/or stupidity, most likely, here, the ‘rich boys pending university’ with not be adjudicated. Most likely, the ‘poor boys’ will be ratted out as the instigator(s) and make penance.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Snowymountainhell,

agree, something really severe could’ve happened here, especially at the playground. Small kids like to taste and eat things, in addition to touching them. It's also high time that boys’ idiotic pranks are not just brushed away in the society, with a shrug of the shoulders and saying “boys will be boys”.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The article says "carpenters' glue for bonding pieces of wood". (?) @2:40 am. That would set hard pretty quickly. (It's not bird lime or gokiburi hoy hoy or anything.)

As I said above, this is just a puzzle. It does not make sense. Thank goodness. If they had had any harmful or malicious intent, they would have used something more dangerous. Not meaning to make any excuses for them, but it just sounds stupid, immature and random. I know how my parents would have dealt with me, and it would have been painful. Community service might well help give them some maturity.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

There are few types of glue on the market, neither have been listed as which type they stole/used 1 is a PVA glue which goes off when the wood is pressed to geather over several hours, and it can be washed off your hands with water, the 2 is contact adhesive it requires both items to be coated in glue and when brought together they stick. glueing one side is pointless it wont work, but is a devil to get off your hands, I dont know which one they stole but it is dumb to use any of them on a park equipment, the 3 opption is super glue which bond skin and objects in seconds. if any child has been effected by these bozzo's give them the invoice for replacing any cloathes, and contractor invoice for cleaning it up or make them clear it up, then charge them for breaking and entering the building site.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Glue??? Back in the days I seen play ground equipment cover in toilets paper

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Most of us were Young and have done something not to be proud of.

I’m not young, but I carry a tube of superglue and sometimes glue a ¥100 coin to the ground when I have to wait a long time for a train. Very funny.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Punishment is to have each student's pair of hands glued together so they can keep their hands busy being stuck to themselves.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"Kids doing something stupid but why does it have to make national headlines?"

Yeah, it's disconcerting when living in a place where shootings, police murders, abhorrent racist abuse, and other violence does not take up most, if not all, of the DAILY news. Ya get used to it. But wait til you go back home after having gotten used to it... It would NEVER have occurred to me to want a CCL in Japan...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites