A 28-year-old woman told police she was walking along a Honolulu street about 5:30 p.m. when the girl confronted her and demanded her purse. The woman said she struggled with the girl while trying to keep her purse from being taken and was punched in the face just before the girl was able to wrest the purse away.

The girl ran away from the area and could not be found at the time. The girl was identified yesterday as a result of an ongoing investigation and turned herself in to police.

She was arrested for suspicion of second-degree robbery and was later released pending further investigation.

Homeless man's attempt to rob tourist thwarted

A 24-year-old homeless man was arrested in Waikiki yesterday morning after he allegedly tried to force a 19-year-old visitor from Japan to use his credit cards issued by Japanese merchants to withdraw money from at least five different automatic teller machines in Waikiki.

The visitor told police the man took four credit cards from his wallet and implied that he would beat him if he did not follow instructions. He said he went to various ATMs and tried to get money out of them but was unsuccessful because the cards are usable only in Japan.

The visitor said the man then told hem he wanted to go the visitor's hotel room and would kill him unless he had money at the room and would hand it over.

The visitor said he refused to comply with the demand, at which point the suspect punched him in the face. The visitor said he broke free and ran while calling for help.