A 50-year-old man has been charged for allegedly wounding three people in a knife attack that took place at a Lennon Wall in Tseung Kwan O earlier this week.
Tony Hung is accused of using a knife to slash a man and two women at the site of one of the many Post It-covered walls that have appeared in the city since pro-democracy protests kicked off more than two months ago.
Ming Pao reports that Hung was charged with three counts of wounding during his appearance at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court this morning. He was not required to enter a plea and was denied bail.
The magistrate adjourned the case until Oct. 17 as prosecutors asked for more time to carry out further investigations including a police line-up, and DNA and fingerprint tests on two knives seized near the crime scene.
The newspaper reported that Hung gave his occupation as tour guide, and that the city’s Travel Industry Council would be looking into whether or not to suspend or revoke his license.
Hung allegedly got into a heated discussion with a group of people outside a Lennon Wall located in a pedestrian walkway in the area, before lashing out and attacking one man and and two women in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
He then fled the scene and was arrested at 3pm that day in the border town of Lo Wu at the mainland checkpoint.
All three victims were hospitalized, and the two female victims, aged 26 and 35, are still receiving inpatient treatment. The 26-year-old, who was taken to hospital in a critical condition, is now in stable condition.
“Lennon Walls,” which serve as clearinghouses for messages of support for the ongoing pro-democracy movement, first arrived in Hong Kong during the 2014 Umbrella Movement. Now, with massive protests again rocking the city, the walls have again cropped up all over town.
They have since become focal points for conflicts, with arguments and fights at times breaking out between critics of the protest movement and the pro-democracy volunteers manning the walls.
Police revealed at a press briefing yesterday afternoon that 47 people have been arrested in 57 cases concerning Lennon Walls. The arrests involved criminal damage, fighting in a public place, assault, and possession of offensive weapons.
