Visitor ‘cannot forgive’
boy who set her on fire

Answer: The Japanese visitor who had her clothes set on fire by a 12-year-old Waimanalo boy says she "cannot forgive the young boy who did this to me."

Yuko Keida, 19, released a written statement this week about the Sept. 19 incident at a bus stop along Kailua Road.

Police said the suspect used a lighter to set Keida's hair and blouse on fire as she boarded a bus.

Keida suffered second-degree burns as she tried to remove her burning clothing. Though the "pain from the burns has lessened and the blisters on my back, hands, fingers and arms have healed," Keida said that she has been "terribly traumatized by this incident."

"Whenever I recall the incident or think about it, I am tormented," she said.

The suspect was charged with first-degree criminal property damage, although he was initially arrested for suspicion of second-degree assault.

The case was set for adjudication in Family Court on Oct. 7. However, a spokesman for the city prosecutor's office said he could not release any information because of privacy laws in juvenile cases.

"Not even the victim knows what happened to him," said Jim Fulton.

Keida, who has returned home to Kagoshima, Japan, said that she was happy it was over and that "the young boy has been punished for what he did.

"I hope he will follow through with counseling and get the help he needs so that he does not hurt anybody again."