Hong Kong police search for seven after Yau Ma Tei knife attack believed linked to triads
- The 42-year-old victim is believed a member of the Wo Shing Wo triad, locked in a back and forth series of revenge attacks with the rival Sun Yee On gang
- A police source says the two gangs are thought to be tied to more than five reported knifings in the past few months
A suspected triad member escaped serious injuries in a knife attack after his car was intercepted by a pair of vehicles outside a Hong Kong hotel in the early hours of Tuesday, prompting a citywide manhunt for the seven assailants.
A police source said he believed a spate of recent revenge hits between the rival Sun Yee On and Wo Shing Wo triads sparked the attack in Yau Ma Tei.
“Intelligence indicated a drug-related dispute prompted a series of retaliatory attacks between the two gangs since late last year,” he said.
He said members of the two gangs had been involved in more than five reported knife attacks in the past few months, adding he believed other assaults were not reported to police.
“The triad violence subsided as police resumed foot patrols in March and officers carried out raids on their entertainment venues,” the source said.
Police stopped foot patrols in August because the force was tied up with the anti-government protests that erupted in June in opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill. As the scale of the protests shrunk, police once again resumed foot patrols in March.
The victim of the latest attack, which occurred at 1.47am on Tuesday, was a 42-year-old local man believed to be a Wo Shing Wo triad member.
He was driving his girlfriend home when his car was sandwiched between two vehicles outside the Prudential Hotel on Tak Hing Street in Yau Ma Tei.
A brief history of Hong Kong’s triad gangs
He reversed his car in an unsuccessful attempt to escape, slamming it into one of the attackers’ vehicles and another car parked in the area. A gang of seven knife-wielding men, believed to be Sun Yee On triad members, jumped out of their cars.
“His girlfriend managed to run out of the car and rushed into the hotel to seek help, but he was slashed in his arms as he tried to close the door of his car,” the source said.
The attack lasted about 20 seconds before the gangsters fled in their black sedan. Officers scouted the area, but no arrests were made.
The victim suffered arm injuries and was taken conscious to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.
The attack came less than four hours after a suspected 14k triad member – a 38-year-old man – was injured in the head, back, arms and legs in another knife attack by three men at the junction of Nelson Street and Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok. Police believe those attackers were also from the Sun Yee On triad.
The victim was in a semi-conscious state while being taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The source said officers are investigating whether the two attacks were linked.
