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‘I feel regretful. I now surrender’: Yu arrives at police headquarters. Photo: Sam Tsang

Man who pulled eight-inch knife at Hong Kong court turns himself in

Mainlander, who had just been dealt a legal defeat, apologises for incident in which he yelled at a judge who ruled against him years ago

A man who triggered a major security alert at the High Court on Tuesday turned himself in to police after apologising for pulling out a knife in a courtroom, yelling at a judge and fleeing the scene.

Police said Yu Zhilin had been angered by a court defeat in a long-running case earlier in the morning, and headed to confront the judge whose initial ruling started the nine-year legal saga.

The incident, involving an eight-inch vegetable knife, sparked calls for stronger security at courts, where visitors do not have to pass through metal detectors or have their belongings searched. The police chief said the force would review security at courts, and would not rule out stationing more officers outside them.

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At 5.50pm on Tuesday, Yu, who is in his 50s and came to Hong Kong from the mainland on a two-way permit in 2008, went to police headquarters in Wan Chai, accompanied by Democratic Party legislator Lam Cheuk-ting. He had gone to Lam for help, and the legislator convinced him to turn himself in.

Before entering the building, Yu said: “I did it on impulse. I apologise to the judge and Hong Kong people for my act this morning.

“I feel regretful. I now surrender.”

Police officers search for the knifeman at court. Photo: Dickson Lee

He was arrested for criminal intimidation and detained.

Earlier in the day, just after 10am, Yu was in the public gallery of Court No 13 at the High Court, where judge Wilson Chan Ka-shun was hearing a contempt of court case.

Yu suddenly pulled the knife and yelled in Mandarin: “Lawless! You thought I couldn’t find you!”

The judge did not answer the man, and left the courtroom immediately. Yu himself then fled.

Court workers called police.

Dozens of police officers soon arrived at the court, in Admiralty, and began looking for the man.

Plain-clothes officers searched every floor of the building, including the fifth, where former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen was facing a corruption trial. That hearing was unaffected.

Chief Inspector Dilys Lo Shui-lin, from Central police district, said officers searched the building twice but did not spot anyone suspicious.

But as police combed the area around the court, Yu had headed to Sheung Shui, northern New Territories, about 25km away.

Just after 11am, he got to Lam’s office there, and asked staff for help with his long-running court battle. He did not mention the knife incident.

Chief Inspector Dilys Lo said officers searched the building twice but did not see anyone suspicious. Photo: Dickson Lee

Lam, who was not at the office then, said his staff gave the man information and sent him on his way. Only later, when a worker at Lam’s office was watching TV news, did they notice that Yu fit the police description. They called him and he admitted he was the knifeman.

They asked him to return to the office and when he did they took him to the Legislative Council building, not far from the High Court, where he met Lam, who convinced him to turn himself in.

According to court records, Yu appeared before judge Chan in 2013. He had lodged a civil suit against the police commissioner and three other officers, whom he accused of assaulting him in Fanling in November 2008. Yu claimed the officers punched and kicked him and hit him with batons.

But Chan ruled against him, saying his testimony “defied common logic”.

He later denied Yu’s request for permission to appeal to a higher court.

Yu subsequently won the right to appeal on technical grounds and the Court of Appeal, accepting his argument, sent the trial back to the District Court, to be heard by another judge. Yu lost that case, and appealed one last time.

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On Tuesday, he was at the High Court to receive the latest judgment from the Court of Appeal. He lost that appeal just half an hour before the knife incident.

A police source said the force believed the man was trying to threaten Chan.

“We suspect the man acted because of the verdict. We believe he didn’t have any intention to harm the judge,” the source said.

Legislator Lam said it would be appropriate to beef up security measures at court, saying “visitors should at least go through a security check before they enter”.

Another lawmaker, Dennis Kwok, who represents the legal sector, said Legco should discuss the matter to prevent the same thing from happening again.

“Having no police officers to respond promptly to incidents is a big problem,” Kwok said.

Police Commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung said the force had close contact with security staff at courts, and that officers patrol regularly outside the High Court.

“After this incident, we will review and discuss with the courts the security arrangement in the future,” Lo said. Similarly, a spokesman for the judiciary said it would maintain close contact with police to review security arrangements.

Additional reporting by Xinqi Su

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Knifeman surrenders and apologises for court dramaKnifeman apologises for court drama
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