CHIBA -- Five Vietnamese men in Japan have been arrested for allegedly breaking into the home of a fellow citizen in the Chiba Prefecture city of Yachiyo and stealing money and goods in February, Chiba Prefectural Police announced on Nov. 14.

The 29-year-old Yachiyo resident, Be Manh Dung, was found dead in a burned car on a forest road in the prefectural town of Otaki, and police are investigating on the assumption that the five robbery suspects were involved in his murder as well.

The five men in their 20s to 30s, including unemployed resident Tu Minh Hai, 23, of no fixed address, are accused of breaking into the house where Be and his girlfriend at the time were living between the night of Feb. 5 and the early morning of the following day. They allegedly hit him in the face and stole a cellphone and a ring with a total market value of 375,000 yen (about $2,400). The prefectural police arrested the suspects on Nov. 13. The police have not revealed whether they have admitted to the allegations.

According to the police and other investigative sources, the men entered Be's home and assaulted him, saying, "Return the money," before taking him away in a car.

The burned body of Be was found in Otaki on the morning of Feb. 7. An autopsy revealed that the victim had numerous broken bones, indicating that he may have been burned after being killed. The prefectural police are looking into the possibility that there was a financial dispute between the victim and the five men.

(Japanese original by Honami Hayashi, Chiba Bureau)