TOKYO – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a male Vietnamese national who is suspected in a series of assaults of women in Nakano Ward, local media reported.

According to Japanese broadcaster TBS News, 23-year-old Pham Minh Toan approached a woman from behind on a road in Nakano Ward and pushed her down on the evening of May 26. He then ripped her stockings and fondled her buttocks.

The woman, aged in her 20s, reportedly sustained injuries that required two weeks to heal.

Pham, who is studying Japanese at a vocational school, has admitted to fondling the body of the woman, TV Asahi reports. “But she fell down on her own,” said the suspect, who was quoted by police.

Police allege Pham has also been involved in seven other similar incidents that have taken place in the same area this year.

– with other agencies