Hong Kong bus horror as syringe planted on Long Win service from airport injures female passenger on Lantau Island
- Detectives launch criminal investigation into incident, which leaves 30-year-old woman needing hospital treatment
- It follows a spate of attacks last summer when needles were planted on seats, causing panic among some passengers
A woman was injured by a syringe on board a bus on Lantau Island on Tuesday, prompting Hong Kong police to launch a criminal investigation.
The 30-year-old passenger was travelling on the Long Win Bus service from Hong Kong International Airport to Yat Tung Estate in Tung Chung when she was hurt at about 8.45am.
Officers suspect the syringe was planted on the seat of the route S64X double-decker, in a deliberate attempt to injure, a move that has echoes of a series of incidents last summer involving sharp objects.
A police spokesman said the woman suffered injuries to her lower left leg, and a 10cm syringe was found sticking out from the seat in front of her. The bus was near to the Tung Chung Fire Station in Shun Tung Road at the time.
The victim notified the 42-year-old bus driver, who called police. The woman was taken to North Lantau Hospital in Tung Chung for treatment.
A law enforcement source said the bus had surveillance cameras and officers would check the footage in an effort to trace the person who had planted the syringe.
Needles sticking out of Hong Kong bus seats injure two passengers
A spokesman for Long Win Bus said the company was taking the incident seriously and strongly condemned any attempt to injure its passengers.
“Long Win will fully assist the police in investigation and ask its frontline staff to step up checks of buses,” the company spokesman added.
The firm urged passengers to be on alert and report anything suspicious to its drivers, as well as police.
Long Win Bus, the sister company of the city’s largest bus operator KMB, operates 279 buses providing transport services on 34 routes connecting the airport and North Lantau.
Last year, a bizarre string of incidents involving needles sticking out of seats on Hong Kong buses sparked panic among some passengers in June and July.
There were 13 reports of needles being found on KMB vehicles over a period of two weeks.
