‘People were fleeing in every direction’: Knifeman ‘with history of mental illness’ slashes two passers-by on Hong Kong street
PUBLISHED : Monday, 19 October, 2015, 10:15am
UPDATED : Monday, 19 October, 2015, 11:33pm
Clifford Lo and Samuel Chan
Police officers subdue the suspect. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Schoolchildren and passers-by fled in terror as a discharged psychiatric patient carrying two knives attacked and injured two pedestrians outside Western Police Station yesterday.
Witnesses described a terrifying scene as about 30 officers rushed from the station after receiving a report at 7.45am that the man had wounded two passers-by.
Police officers, some of whom drew their guns, subdued and arrested the suspect, 43, on Des Voeux Road West in Sai Ying Pun.
The alleged attacker was discharged from Castle Peak Hospital -a psychiatric facility in Tuen Mun - last Wednesday.
Police retrieved two knives from the scene.
The attacks happened less than five hours after another man with mental illness was arrested on suspicion of killing his elderly mother with a pair of scissors in Sha Tin.
The wounding incidents took place at the junction of Western Street and Des Voeux Road West at about 7.45am.
A man, 65, suffered a minor cut to his right forearm while crossing Des Voeux Road West, according to police. He did not require hospital treatment.
Another passer-by, a 43-year-old woman, was wounded in the waist, shoulder and arm outside Bank Building.
Ng Kam-wah, a security guard at Siu On Building on the opposite side of Des Voeux Road West, said primary school pupils and passers-by ran for cover when the attack began.
"[The attacker] held both of his knives high, staring at people around him and then walked calmly after he slashed a woman," Ng said.
"The woman, clearly a passer-by, had deep cuts in both her shoulder and arm, and was covered in blood," said the 60-year-old. "There were a lot of school kids on the street - people were fleeing in every direction after it happened."
About a minute after the incident, Ng said 30 police officers from adjacent Western Police Station arrived at the scene. Police said two station sergeants drew their guns after repeated warnings were ignored.
"[The attacker] was crossing the street towards me when the officers arrived. They pointed their guns at the man and told him to drop his knives," Ng said.
Security guard Ng Kam-wah witnessed the attack. Photo: Samuel Chan
"As soon as the man spread both of his arms and dropped his knives, five to six officers immediately forced him to the ground and subdued him."
Acting chief inspector Chiu Chi-wing from Western Police Station said that when officers arrived, they found the man was emotionally unstable.
"Officers issued repeated verbal warnings but he ignored them," he said. "Officers then drew their guns and subdued him."
Chiu said the suspect appeared to be mentally unsound, adding: "My colleagues said the suspect was talking nonsense at the time of the incident."
He said the suspect did not know the two injured passers-by and his motive remained unknown.
A policeman and the suspect were also injured in the incident. Police retrieved two knives.
The scene on Des Voeux Road West this morning after the attack. Photo: Felix Wong
After being treated at Queen Mary Hospital, the suspect was sent to Castle Peak Hospital.
In the afternoon, the injured woman was in a stable condition at Queen Mary Hospital. The constable was treated for minor hand injuries and discharged.
The man had received treatment at Castle Peak Hospital, which looks after serious psychiatric patients, since August and was released last Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Queen Mary Hospital said.
She said the man had been a patient at Western Psychiatric Centre since September 2010 and had attended regular follow-up consultations.
His mental condition was stable when he visited the centre at the end of June and when his case manager called him last Friday, she said. His next consultation had been scheduled for today.
The case brought back into focus a local shortage of psychiatrists to look after patients with mental illnesses, with some forecasting the scarcity would continue for at least 20 years.
Dr Ivan Mak Wing-chit, a specialist in psychiatry, said mental health patients typically developed their condition between 15 and 25 years old, possibly triggered by stress and life changes.
Mak said those who reached their late 30s or early 40s could be living with their condition for a decade and become accustomed to managing their symptoms.
Mak said a case manager would be needed to more closely observe the daily life of a patient to check for any relapse.
He urged the government to increase resources in a bid to develop a long-term and comprehensive approach to handling mental health issues.
