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FUKUOKA -- Three people who abandoned a man who joined them when they tried to gas themselves in a joint suicide bid have been arrested, law enforcers said.

Arrested were Takashi Shimizu, 24, a university student from Fukuoka; Hidekazu Tanaka, 27, an unemployed man of no fixed address; and a 19-year-old unemployed woman whose name has been withheld because she is a minor.

The man who was abandoned is still in hospital, and police are investigating the incident. The three have reportedly admitted to the allegations against them, with one of them saying, "We couldn't think of what to do with the man."

Investigators said the four and another 37-year-old woman gathered in the parking lot of a gymnasium in Yabe, Fukuoka Prefecture, at Shimizu's initiative. They tried to gas themselves to death by burning briquettes inside a vehicle, but the suicide attempt failed. Police accuse Shimizu, Tanaka and the 19-year-old of abandoning the man, who remained in a groggy state, in the parking lot of an apartment block in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture.

Shimizu had left a message on an Internet suicide site saying, "I'll be lonely by myself. Is there anyone who will die with me?" The five who tried to commit suicide are believed to have met up through the site in about September. They reportedly took sleeping pills and drank alcohol inside a rented van, and set two briquettes alight inside in an attempt to gas themselves to death.

When carrying out the suicide attempt, however, Shimizu left the scene for about 20 minutes, telling the remaining four, "I've got no intention of committing suicide." Police believe that he played the role of watching over the other four.

The incident was uncovered when the resident of the apartment block where the man was abandoned made an emergency call. Due to the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning, the man was left in a serious condition, not even being able to say his own name.

When questioned by investigators, Shimizu reportedly said, "I didn't think we would succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning."

The other 37-year-old woman also remained groggy, but she was returned to her home.