The state prosecutor’s office in the city of Frankfurt an der Oder confirmed their confession on Thursday evening.

Last Friday the two boys allegedly came across the man while he was sleeping in an apartment building hallway when they decided to steal his bank card and cigarettes. The intoxicated man could not provide them with his PIN because he himself did not know the number.

“He always got money from the bank counter,” a spokesperson for the state prosecutor said.

The boys became agitated and set the man’s clothing and hair on fire. The victim was treated for burns in a local hospital.

When a resident of the apartment entered the hallway the boys ran off.

The spokesperson said one of the students played a smaller role in the violence.