A 19-year-old construction worker was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of hitting and pouring boiling water earlier this month on a 1-year-old boy entrusted to his care by a friend, police said.
The suspect, a resident of Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, is suspected of inflicting injuries on the boy requiring three weeks of treatment, the authorities said. "I hit (the boy) because I was irritated," the suspect reportedly said.
According to investigations, the man -- whose identity is withheld under the Juvenile Law -- was asked by his friend, also 19, from Nagoya's Minato Ward, to look after his child.
Investigations showed that the boy suffered burns and bruises after the suspect allegedly hit the boy and poured hot water on his face between July 5 and 12.
The boy's father entrusted his child to the suspect on June 25 because he was taking care of his hospitalized wife and because of work commitments.