Osaka police apprehend serial spitter

OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police on Sunday arrested a 19-year-old male university student for spitting saliva on women in a series of incidents dating back to last year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (April 5).

On March 17 at 9:35 p.m., the suspect is alleged to have used a bicycle to approach a teenage girl from behind as she commuted home on a road in the town of Kumatori and spit on the back of her head.

The suspect, who has been charged with assault, has reportedly admitted to the allegations. “I get excited when I see a woman is upset,” the suspect is quoted by police. “I’ve done this several times.”

Between October of last year and March, the suspect is believed to have participated in 11 similar incidents involving women around the age of 20 in Kumatori and nearby Izumisano City.

Police used security camera footage to identify the perpetrator, according to Sports Hochi (April 6). In several cases, the results of DNA tests on saliva left behind at the scenes of the crimes matched with that of the suspect.