A traffic policeman shot dead a man in Sham Shui Po last night in apparent self-defence while trying to stop what was believed to be a triad attack.
The policeman was at the junction of Pratas Street and Castle Peak Road when he saw five men, all armed with knives, getting out of a car at about 9.40pm.
They chased another man, who had just left a restaurant with three friends, and attacked him using the knives.
The policeman shouted at the gang to stop but his instructions were ignored. Then one of the men came at him brandishing a knife and he opened fire.
Lau Tat-keung, police assistant commander for the Sham Shui Po district, said last night: 'The officer issued warnings three times and one of the attackers ran at our colleague, waving his knife. The officer opened fire and the attacker was shot.'
Lau said the shot man, aged 36, was certified dead at about 10.30pm after being taken to the nearby Caritas Medical Centre.