Maskless man brandishes knife at bus passengers, subdued by police: Reports

A Hong Kong bus passenger allegedly threatened the driver and commuters on board with a knife after being told to put a mask on, local media reportedly Friday.

Police chased down the man after he alighted near a shopping center in Tai Po and subdued him with pepper spray.

According to Ming Pao, the man boarded bus 74X at the Tai Po Central Bus Terminal at around 3pm. He took off his mask and after arguing with the driver and passengers asking him to put it back on, brandished a 5-inch long kitchen knife.

He alighted near Tai Po Center, his knife still in hand.

Police responded to reports and spotted him as he was crossing a bridge towards Plover Cove Shopping Arcade. They chased after the man and pepper sprayed him at least four times before cornering him against a wall and pinning him to the ground.

A video shared to a Facebook group called “Tai Po 大埔” shows police with riot shields facing off with the man, who is seen holding a knife in his right hand.

[I] was walking… and a group of police officers were raising their guns while walking in our direction, yelling [at us] to stay away,” So Hyun Hei, who posted the video, wrote. “Only when [I] took a close look did I see the man was holding a kitchen knife.”

Police said a 47-year-old suspect, surnamed Yip, was arrested on suspicion of crinimal intimidation and posession of an offensive weapon, according to Ming Pao.

Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases, authorities passed a law requiring all commuters to wear a mask while taking public transportation earlier this week.

Kowloon Motor Bus, the company that operates the 74X bus route, has so far received three reports of passengers not cooperating with the new regulation.

For a city that has almost ubiquitously taken up mask-wearing since the outbreak began in January, Hong Kong is seeing a surprising number of cases involving maskless citizens reacting with violence.

At a McDonald’s outlet in Tuen Mun around 3am on Tuesday, a man with alleged triad links attacked a worker at the restaurant after he was told to put on a mask. Police have apprehended a 25-year-old suspect.

Also on Tuesday, a similar incident occurred at Don Don Donki, a Japanese discount store in Tsuen Wan. Ming Pao reported that a female security guard was slapped across the face by a man angry about being asked to wear a mask.