Elderly woman dies after waiting-room attack by sailor from cruise ship A sailor from a world cruise ship was arrested on suspicion of killing an elderly woman after stabbing her in the leg in the accident and emergency department of Princess Margaret Hospital yesterday. Police said Tai Kong-wah, 77, and the sailor, an Indian aged 24 suspected to be suffering from a mental illness, were waiting outside the department's consultation rooms. Tai, who had gone to the hospital with abdominal pain at 8am, was sitting next to her daughter after her examination when her condition suddenly deteriorated and she collapsed to the floor unconscious. Senior Inspector Tang Wai-hing of Sham Shui Po district crime squad said that after medical staff placed her on a stretcher and gave her first aid, the man rushed forward and stabbed her with a fruit knife in the left calf, leaving the knife in her leg. Three police overpowered the man in a brief struggle and arrested him. A constable's right hand was injured in the struggle. Officers believe the man had the knife in his luggage. 'It was all very sudden. The whole incident lasted less than 20 seconds,' Senior Inspector Tang said. Tai, who the hospital said suffered celiac artery disease, was declared dead by doctors at 1.36pm. A postmortem examination will be carried out today. Officers said it was possible she died of a heart attack. But Senior Inspector Tang said: 'It's not known whether the knife attack and heart attack are interrelated.' She added: 'Our investigation showed that Tai did not yell when she was stabbed in the calf.' Police said Tai had no history of heart problems. Last night the suspect was being guarded by police at a ward in the hospital and had not been charged. He had been treated for depression by doctors on board the Sapphire Princess cruise ship, according to police. He was sent to the hospital after the ship berthed in Kwai Chung yesterday and had been waiting about half an hour to see a doctor when he attacked Tai. Crime squad officers from Sham Shui Po are investigating. Princess Margaret Hospital expressed condolences to Tai's family in a statement last night. A hospital spokesman stressed that the accident and emergency department had guidelines to deal with sudden incidents, including those involving patients with mental disorders and violent tendencies. He said there was also a closed-circuit TV surveillance system and security guards in the emergency room. Lee Sing, professor of psychiatry at Chinese University, said psychosis and schizophrenia patients might have hallucinations and delusions that they were being persecuted. They might hurt strangers while, from their point of view, they were trying to defend themselves. He said hospitals could arrange for psychosis patients with violent tendencies to stay in an isolated room while waiting for an appointment, but it was unnecessary to isolate all patients with mental disorders because it might create a stigma.
