An alert Japanese taxi driver foiled a college student's attempt to kidnap a 12-year-old girl in a duffel bag, several outlets reported.
The suspect, Tomohiro Kodama, a 20-year-old sophomore at Seijo University, confessed to the crime but couldn't explain why he did it or why he chose the girl as a target, the Japanese Daily Press reported. He is in custody.
Cabbie Toshiyuki Hoshiyama picked up a man with a large travel bag Tuesday night in Hiroshima. He notice the bag was unusually warm and soft when he helped place it in the trunk. Stopped at a light, the driver heard cries of "Get me out!" coming from the back, the Daily Yomiuri wrote.
Hoshiyama pressed his passenger for more information about the cargo, which prompted Kodama to open the door and attempt to escape, according to reports. The quick-thinking cabbie grabbed Kodama and yelled at passersby to call the cops. One person followed up and discovered the girl, unharmed, in the bag before police arrived, UPI said.
Officials told the Daily Press the girl was waiting for her mother when the suspect approached her with a fruit knife and ordered her into the bag. Kodama, from Tokyo, then asked to be taken to Hiroshima train station.
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