Police have arrested five suspects in relation to an armed attack yesterday that spilled out into a Wan Chai street and saw five people injured with metal bars and knives.
Local media initially reported yesterday that only one person had been arrested, but a police spokesperson confirmed to Coconuts HK today that an additional four men who were allegedly at the scene yesterday were also arrested.
According to on.cc, two private cars stopped in the middle of Lockhart Road at around noon yesterday, with at least 10 men wearing face masks, gloves, and baseball caps pouring out.
The group, armed with iron bars and butcher knives, went into a Lockhart Road bar near the Luard Road junction and began to smash things inside the bar and attack people, causing up to 30 people who were inside to flee.
The outlet reports that during the attack, bar staff called in friends to help, which resulted in a fight between the two groups.
Video posted to Facebook shows the the brawl spilling out onto the sidewalk, with a group of at least six men using sticks to beat at least two others lying on the sidewalk.
Some of the masked men can be seen attempting to get into one of the parked cars, only for a man in a blue T-shirt to rush forward and begin smashing the windshield.
In the video, a woman can be heard saying in Tagalog: “Oh my God! What is that?!”
On.cc reports that some of the attackers abandoned the car and fled on foot.
When police arrived at the scene shortly afterwards, they found five men covered in blood lying on the sidewalk, a butcher knife, and the black Toyota with a broken windshield.
Apple Daily reported that the car had a fake registration plate.
The five injured men — including four of the suspects — were taken to hospital Queen Mary Hospital and Ruttonjee Hospital for treatment.
A police spokesperson confirmed to Coconuts HK that they are treating the case as wounding and blackmail, and that it’s being handled by the Wan Chai police district’s anti-triad unit.
Four of the suspects were arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack, while the fifth suspect was arrested on suspicion of extorting money from the bar.
Speaking to Ming Pao at the scene, one of the bar’s co-owners, who identified himself as Mike, said that he had just spent HK$2 million (US$255,000) renovating the bar.
He told the outlet that he believed the attack was triad-related as he had refused to pay a protection fee of about HK$50,000 (US$6,000) a month to gangs in the area.
