Knifeman subdued by Hong Kong police after random attack on cafe customer

A knifeman wounded a cafe customer in a random attack before he was subdued by Hong Kong police in a brief but tense confrontation in Wong Tai Sin on Sunday night.

Surveillance footage from a cha chaan teng at Kai Tak Garden on Choi Hung Road showed the 22-year-old man entering at about 6.30pm.

He walks straight to the kitchen and confronts a female staff member.

The woman backs off but remains calm. A male colleague tries to divert the man’s attention, but he remains in the kitchen before briefly standing by the doorway. Other patrons seem to notice something is amiss but are unclear about what is going on.

The man, who can be seen with a knife at this point, then approaches the cafe’s entrance where a male customer has just walked in.

He attacks the customer, cutting his arm before casually walking away.

According to authorities, the man lingered at a supermarket before attempting to enter a parked vehicle near Tai Tung Street and Tai Shing Street. He was chased away by the driver who was still in the car.

Another widely circulated video showed the knife-wielding man in a stand-off with police carrying batons, as other officers nearby appeared ready to draw their guns.

The footage showed officers repeatedly urging the man to drop the knife, as two more police vehicles arrived, sirens blaring. The man did not comply.

After about a minute, more than a dozen officers closed in to arrest the man. He was eventually subdued.

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The injured 49-year-old customer was treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital for a minor wound and discharged.

The suspect, a graduate from the Institute of Vocational Education, had been working as a clerk but became jobless recently, a police source said. He was living with his parents and a younger brother in the neighbouring Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate.

Officers are investigating the motive behind his actions.