Suspected sex attacker arrested after teenager molested near her Tin Shui Wai home
Waitress fights off masked man who grabbed her as she stepped off elevator
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 15 April, 2014, 2:25pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 15 April, 2014, 10:40pm
Clifford Lo [email protected]
A 19-year-old woman was indecently assaulted by a man minutes before reaching her home in Tin Shui Wai. Photo: Sam Tsang
Police have arrested a suspected sex attacker after a 19-year-old woman was molested by a masked man who covered her mouth with possible chemical-soaked tissue paper when she returned to her Tin Shui Wai home early on Tuesday.
At about 5pm, a 23-year-old man was arrested by police in a flat in the same building.
Police officers found in the arrested man’s flat a bottle of medical alcohol, unused surgical masks, some tissue papers, as well as clothes and shoes they believed he was wearing during the attack.
The assault took place in Yuet Tai House at Tin Yuet Estate on Tin Wah Road as the victim, who is a waitress, returned home from work at about 2am.
“Shortly after she walked out of a lift, she was attacked from behind by a man who covered her mouth and nose with a tissue paper and molested her,” a police source said. “He ran downstairs as the victim struggled and shouted for help.”
She ran into her home and called police. She suffered scratches in her hands in the incident and was taken to Tuen Mun Hospital for treatment.
“The victim told officers that the tissue paper released a strong odour,” the source said. “She managed to escape as he failed to cover her mouth and nose with the tissue firmly.” No tissue paper was found at the scene.
Police are also looking into whether the attacker lives in the same building. “It is possible the attacker monitored her daily routine and ambushed her,” another source said. It is understood that the victim usually returned home from work around 2am.
The attacker, who may have been captured by surveillance cameras after the attack, is described as Cantonese-speaking, 1.75 metres tall with a medium build, aged 20 to 30, with short hair. He was wearing a black long-sleeve shirt and used a blue surgical mask to hide his face.
Detectives from the Yuen Long district crime squad are investigating.
Police appealed for witnesses and anyone with information to contact officers at 3661 4643 or 6148 1618.
Last Tuesday, two girls aged 14 and 17 were threatened by a man with a box cutter and indecently assaulted in Hing Wah Estate in Chai Wan in two cases that happened over a period of nine hours. So far, no one has been arrested. Police are investigating whether the two teenagers were attacked by the same man.
Police figures show cases of indecent assault dropped by 2 per cent to 1,463 last year from 1,495 in 2012. There were 105 reports of rape last year, a 13 per cent drop from 121 in 2012.
