Hong Kong man bites off thumb tip of opponent in fight on MTR train – severed part found five stops later
Altercation breaks out after passengers bump into each other, with one man punching the other in the mouth
A fight between two commuters on a crowded Hong Kong train on Thursday left one with part of his left thumb bitten off and the other with facial injuries.
The men, aged 64 and 54, were arrested by police at Mong Kok station, but the severed thumb tip of the older man, measuring 1cm in length, was only recovered when the train arrived at Central, 12 minutes away, authorities said.
The brawl broke out when the train left Prince Edward station just before 9am. A police source said the recovered thumb tip was sent to hospital for reattachment surgery and it was still too early to tell if the procedure was successful.
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According to investigations, the older man, surnamed Tong, had boarded the train at Sham Shui Po station.
The clash ensued soon after the younger man, surnamed Yu, came on board at Prince Edward. Police said the row started when one of them bumped into the other.
It was found when the train arrived at Central station
Tong had part of his left thumb bitten off when he punched Yu’s mouth, the source said.
The two were detained after they alighted at Mong Kok and arrested for fighting in a public place.
Both taken to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei for treatment.
As of Thursday afternoon, the pair were detained in the hospital’s custodial ward and had not been charged.
The source said the men were unfit to give statements as they were still under medical care.
According to the MTR Corporation, staff members entered the train at Jordan station to search for the severed part of the thumb.
“It was found when the train arrived at Central station,” a spokeswoman said.
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She said the thumb tip was put in an ice bag before being handed to paramedics.
Train services were unaffected by the incident.
According to official statistics, police handled 1,138 reports of serious assault in the first four months of the year, up 2.1 per cent compared with 1,115 cases in the same period last year.
