Assault suspect was a 'nice guy' who had lived in the area for three decades, neighbours say
ELIZABETH CHEUNGelizabeth.cheung@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 14 November, 2015, 12:02am
UPDATED : Saturday, 14 November, 2015, 12:01am
One of the victims is rushed to hospital.Photo: SCMP Pictures
A quiet Lai King village was left shocked by a brutal axe and cutter attack on three women by a 76-year-old neighbour yesterday.
Fellow villagers, including one of the victims, said the suspect had been "a very nice guy" and had no previous grievances or arguments with the women he is alleged to have assaulted.
Police confirmed the man had no history of mental health problems, and were investigating possible motives for the assault.
READ MORE: Hong Kong villager gets life for fatal knife attack as mahjong players looked on
The attack took place in Kau Wah Keng San Tsuen at about 3.10pm. It left an 84-year-old woman seriously injured, with wounds to her forehead, eyes and arms. Another woman, 48, was slashed in the neck and back. Details of her condition were unclear last night.
The first victim's foreign domestic helper suffered slash wounds to her arms. She was discharged from hospital last night.
Television footage of the alleged attacker showed wounds to his left shoulder that left him covered in blood. An oxygen mask was placed over his face while paramedics lifted him into the ambulance. Police later confirmed that he had used the cutter to slit his throat.
It was understood that the suspect had a dispute with the 48-year-old victim in the village office, where he allegedly attacked her with a cutter before she fled to seek help. He then attacked the older woman and her helper in her flat with an axe before fleeing uphill.
Police officers rushed to the scene armed with shields and swiftly brought the suspect under control. Both the suspect and the three victims were taken to Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung for treatment.
The injured domestic helper later told local media that the man, who she said had always been a "very nice guy" and lived next door to their flat, made his attack without any warning.
"He entered our flat suddenly and chopped us," said the helper, adding that there was no argument between herself, her employer and the man beforehand.
The head of the village, who did not give his full name, said the suspect sat on the staircase outside his house with his axe and cutter after the attack.
"He had blood all over his body, and he asked me not to call 999," the village chief said. The suspect had lived in the village for more than 30 years, he added.
Jacky Chue Chin-pang, acting chief inspector of police from Sham Shui Po police district, said the suspect had always had a good relationship with other villagers over the years.
"He has not piled up any grievances with the others. Motives behind the assault remain unclear at the moment," said Chue. "He has been actively helping other villagers and doing voluntary work in the village," he said, adding that the assault was not connected to the business of the village office.
Police data showed there were 2,548 cases of wounding and serious assault in the first half this year. More recently, a knife attack at Jordan MTR station in the evening rush hour left three men injured, in what police believed was a skirmish between two triad gangs.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1878725/shock-hong-kong-village-man-76-hacks-three-women-neighbours
