Hong Kong’s rash of violent crimes may not be result of ‘copycat effect’, experts say, as one warns post-Covid stress could lead to more conflicts
- City has witnessed spate of violent incidents in June, including recent knife attack on McDonald’s manager and fatal stabbing of two women at shopping centre
- Expert tells Hongkongers to ‘stay calm and take things one step at a time’, as some call for media to tone down gruesome details from crime coverage
A recent spate of knife attacks in Hong Kong should not necessarily be attributed to perpetrators copying each other, experts have said, with one warning that pent-up stress among residents following the Covid-19 pandemic could lead to more conflicts.
The remarks from experts on Monday followed a third incident this month, when a McDonald’s employee on Sunday allegedly attacked his manager at work with a pair of knives.
Police a day later laid a holding charge against the 29-year-old man with one count of wounding. He is expected to appear at the city’s Eastern Court on Tuesday.
The force said the man had argued with the 38-year-old victim over his job performance before the incident. The suspect had no prior record of mental illness, they added.
The Hospital Authority said on Monday the victim remained in serious condition.
Dennis Wong Sing-wing, a criminology professor at City University, said it was unlikely that the recent attacks were due to others attempting to imitate crimes reported by news outlets.