A Hong Kong man who attacked his wife with an ax yesterday was arrested after five hours perched on a high-rise window ledge from which he appeared ready to jump.
The 61-year-old man, surnamed Chan, was talked down by police negotiators at 1pm yesterday, hours after he chopped his wife, a 42-year-old surnamed Lee, on the forehead with an ax in their 17th floor Tin Shui Wai flat. During the five-hour ordeal, firefighters inflated an air cushion and the police deployed officers from its Special Duties Unit — equipped with abseiling gear — to stand by in case Chan needed to be rescued.
Following his return to safety, Chan was arrested and taken to a hospital.
According to Sing Tao, Chan assaulted Lee because he was angry that she reported him to the police last month for domestic abuse. In the fallout, Chan was arrested while Lee and the couple’s two daughters were given temporary shelter by the Social Welfare Department.
At around 7am yesterday, Lee and the children returned to the family home to pick up a few personal items, at which point Chan reportedly accused Lee of making false accusations about him to the police. Around 8am, the couple’s 14-year-old daughter called the police to say, “my father attacked my mother”.
After emergency services arrived on the scene, they rushed Lee to Tuen Mun Hospital, where she underwent brain surgery at around 12pm, SCMP reports.
