Tokyo police have booked 12 boys ranging in age from 10 to 17 for allegedly robbing elderly people out of 1 million yen, police said Monday.
Police in Tokyo's Kamata said they had arrested five boys aged between 14 and 17 and took into protective custody the younger seven, including a 10-year-old fourth-grader. Investigators suspect the boys snatched purses and bags from elderly people 36 times between October and early this month and obtained about 1 million yen.
Police quoted a 13-year-old junior high student, a leader of the group, as saying his group wanted money to play at video game centers. The boy reportedly told police the group became acquainted with each other at game centers in Tokyo's Ota Ward.