Hong Kong motorist hospitalised after suspected triad knife attack

Police investigating possibility 50-year-old man, who was driving son’s red Audi, was victim of mistaken identity after brutal attack near Yau Ma Tei Police Station.

A young suspected gangster has been arrested in Hong Kong after a 50-year-old motorist was repeatedly slashed with knives by five men wearing masks, in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity.

The man, who required surgery after being cut on his right neck, back, right forearm and thighs, was driving his son’s red Audi Saloon near Yau Ma Tei Police Station on Sunday night when he was attacked by the gang.

According to police, the son, who is in his 20s, is believed to be a member of Wo Shing Wo triad, while an 18-year-old arrested near the scene, after the getaway car he was travelling in broke down, is suspected of belonging to the Sun Yee On triad. Police were still hunting for four other attackers.

On Monday morning, the victim was still recovering in Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei and had not yet spoken to police.

Police recovered a variety of weapons, including an axe, from a silver Honda believed to have been used by the attackers.

The attack took place at around 10.49pm on Sunday, when the victim’s car was rammed from behind by a silver Honda at the junction of Ferry Street and Yan Cheung Road. The intersection is about 300 metres away from the area’s police station.

After the victim got out and confronted the Honda driver, five men wearing surgical masks jumped out of the car and a white Toyota seven-seater vehicle, and attacked him with knives. A passer-by called police.

At the same time, a police vehicle was driving out of the station to go on patrol, and the five attackers then fled in their own cars.

Police believe another car, an SUV, was also involved in the attack because it sped away with the Honda and Toyota.

“A police constable tried to stop [the Toyota vehicle] by trying to pull open its door. He fell onto the ground when it sped away,” a police source said.

The officer was treated at Kwong Wah Hospital for abrasions to his face and legs.

As the gang tried to escape in the Honda, which was damaged in the crash, its right front tyre fell off. Three men jumped out of the vehicle and escaped on foot.

Officers stopped the teenage suspect after a brief chase, but the other two managed to escape. Police found an axe and knives in the car.

As of midday on Monday, the 18-year-old was still being held for questioning and had not been charged.

Between January and October this year, police handled 1,304 reports of triad-related crime, up 19.6 per cent from 1,090 cases in the same period last year.