Nine held over vicious gang ambush on pair driving along Hong Kong road as police mount anti-triad raids across city
- Police source says attack linked to turf war between rival factions of triad society
- Officers also raid entertainment venues in separate territory-wide operation to deter gangland activities
A police source said the brutal attack was linked to a turf war between rival factions of a triad society.
Officers also mounted a separate territory-wide operation to deter triad activities and raided entertainment premises after the Saturday’s incident.
In relation to the attack, anti-triad officers took action after midnight and arrested seven local men, aged 24 to 31, in raids in several areas including Tsing Yi, Mong Kok and Ma On Shan.
On Sunday afternoon, two more men, aged 35 and 42, were arrested in Tseung Kwan O and Kwun Tong.
The police source said the first seven suspects arrested and the two injured men all belonged to the same triad and were infighting.
“The attack was well planned. The branches were fighting for turf and power. They had tried to launch quite a lot of attacks over the past week,” the source said.
The suspects were arrested for wounding and detained overnight. Police did not rule out more arrests with an investigation under way.
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Officers also seized three private cars and found meat knives, metal pipes and containers of petrol inside them, the source said.
“We believe the branches were on the way to attack some of their own people with all these tools. We acted on intelligence and intercepted them,” the source added.
The arrests came after camera footage taken by a passing motorist went viral on the internet on Saturday afternoon. The videos showed the pair being ambushed on Prince Edward Road East, close to Choi Hung Estate in East Kowloon, after their car was rammed into a concrete median by a BMW vehicle at around 3.30pm, and prevented from escaping by another car, also a BMW.
A group of masked men were seen jumping from the two silver cars, and attacking the victims’ vehicle with metal pipes and meat cleavers.
Several attackers climbed onto the road divider and started battering the passenger side of the car, even as other vehicles drove past.
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At least six people are visible in one clip captured by another passing motorist, while another video shows an attacker making a stabbing motion through the window of the victims’ car.
The victims, who were conscious, were taken to hospital for treatment.
The attackers abandoned their two vehicles and fled the scene in a third car, according to police.
Officers later found one abandoned BMW in which knives, metal pipes, a lighter, thinner, masks and gloves were discovered. Officers believed the car and tools were linked to Saturday’s attack.
Separately, during the anti-triad operation on Saturday night, officers arrested 23 people for various crimes including drug offences, car theft and wounding.
Additional reporting by Danny Mok
