Suspect in mall knife attack charged with murder
A man who allegedly stabbed two women to death in a shopping centre has been charged with two counts of murder and will be brought before court today, police have said.
The force yesterday said the suspect, a 39-year-old jobless man, was expected to appear at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court this morning.
Sources said the women, thought to be a couple, aged 22 and 26, who were stabbed to death in an apparently random attack at Plaza Hollywood in Diamond Hill, lived together at Lung Mei Tsuen in Tai Po.
The pair was said to have shared the space with another couple on the middle floor of a three-storey house in the village.
The home is only 300 metres from another three-storey property at which 28-year-old model Abby Choi Tin-fung was dismembered in a separate killing in February.
Police found the model’s skull, legs and some broken ribs in a ground floor flat of the house, with the rest of her body still missing.
A village resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the two victims in the latest case usually commuted by car. “The girls often drove their car, it’s a cute vehicle,” she said. “They would leave home early in the morning and come back late.”
The resident, who was shopping at the same mall but left before the stabbings took place at 5pm on Friday, said: “It was really shocking to hear the news just minutes after my family and I left the mall.”
She said Plaza Hollywood was a popular park-and-ride location for some villagers.
The two victims had planned to attend the birthday party of the older woman’s grandfather after their visit to the Diamond Hill shopping centre, according to sources.
The women were said to have developed a relationship after meeting in a pub two months ago. The 26-year old worked as a waitress at a restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui, while her partner was a hair stylist at a salon in the same area.
On Friday, the suspect allegedly bought a 30cm knife at a shop in the mall before rushing the two women from behind and stabbing the older woman.
The other woman tried to push the alleged assailant away and drag her partner to safety, but the suspect caught up with them and continued to attack them.
Horrified shoppers watched in terror before a chef wielding two restaurant stools intervened, with police arriving soon after and subduing the suspect.
The victims were unconscious when rushed to United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong and were later declared dead.
Police said an initial investigation showed the suspect did not know the victims.
The Hospital Authority on Saturday said the man had received treatment at a public specialist outpatient clinic at Kwai Chung Hospital. He had been scheduled for a session tomorrow and last visited the centre on March 7. The man was also visited by a community outreach service on May 29, as arranged by his case manager.
The Post has learned the family of the 22-year-old victim lives at King Lam Estate in Tseung Kwan O, while the 26-year old’s family resides at Choi Hung Estate in Wong Tai Sin. Both are public housing complexes.
An altar at the door of the Tseung Kwan O flat was covered with a piece of red paper and a white candle was placed next to it. Pairs of shoes were placed outside the flat, but no one answered the door.
A neighbour who declined to identify himself said the deceased had lived with her mother, stepfather and stepsister in the flat for nearly a decade.
“I pretty much watched the kids grow up. I haven’t seen her much since she moved out in recent years, but the family still stays there,” he said.
“No one expected someone you know to encounter such a tragedy. I didn’t even know it was her until reporters came and knocked on their door in the past two days.”
The neighbour said he last saw the mother on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a barrister turned insurance manager at Prudential Hong Kong has been fired after posting a photo online of himself in an outfit similar to what the alleged assailant was wearing at the time of the attack.
The photo showed Joseph Lam Chok wearing the same type of Nike shoes, black shorts and white sleeveless T-shirt as the alleged attacker.
Lam said he was trying to sell the shoes, but the post was widely condemned online as insensitive.
Hong Kong prides itself on the safety of its streets and public places. They are regarded as among the safest in the world – until a shocking incident reminds us not to take this for granted. The city has been transfixed with horror at the frenzied stabbing murders of two young women in a shopping centre by a mentally ill man. First thoughts must be for the families and friends of the victims. Leading the condolences, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the incident was an “individual” case. It may have been isolated, but it prompted Lee, rightly, to promise a review of the city’s public mental health services. He said the Health Bureau would also work with the Advisory Committee on Mental Health on ways to enhance people’s mental well-being. The government would also improve services at 24 integrated community centres for mental wellness.
These are timely and welcome steps, and not just because the government is seen to be doing something after a minute of horror that left everyone feeling helpless. Few would not feel humbled by the bravery of the second victim who lost her life trying to save her friend, and of the chef from a nearby restaurant who grabbed two stools and confronted the assailant before police arrived. The reality is that the government could score top marks for efforts to increase mental health resources and improve delivery of services, and still be left with a lot to do. Mental health services remain an exception to comparisons that show our public health standards and care meet international best practice. A shortage of manpower means there is a struggle to keep up with the demand for psychiatric services, resulting in long waits to see a doctor. But the need for prompt and sustained treatment of serious conditions is just as urgent as for heart conditions and other physical ailments. Friday’s assailant, however, was already under continuous care and only four days away from an appointment at a public clinic to manage his schizophrenia.
Tragedies such as this inevitably raise unhelpful misconceptions. Health minister Lo Chung-mau lost no time in addressing one of them, warning the public not to stigmatise mental health patients because of the attack. “I hope the general public will not label people with mental health needs and continue to support and encourage them to seek treatment and help,” he said. He echoed recent reported comments by Equal Opportunities Commission chairman Ricky
Chu Man-kin, who also said it was wrong to associate these patients with violence, to which very few were prone.
A lack of treatment, aftercare and counselling does nothing to ease stigma and lack of support for mental health patients. It would be another tragedy if the review did not salvage enough from this horrible incident to at least begin fixing what is broken in the system.