Fruit stall owner held after nine people hurt in acid attack
PUBLISHED : Monday, 21 October, 2013, 4:53am
UPDATED : Monday, 21 October, 2013, 8:35am
Phila Siu [email protected]
Police officer arrests the fruit stall owner (with handcuffs) in Po On Road Market, Cheung Sha Wan.
A fruit stall owner was arrested after nine people were hurt by corrosive drain cleaner in a dispute between two stall owners at a Cheung Sha Wan market.
Police said the clash happened at 10.15am yesterday inside the market on Po On Road.
A fruit stall owner, 57, is believed to have quarrelled with a married couple who own a neighbouring fruit stall about how their goods were laid out.
The suspect then allegedly picked up a bottle of drain cleaner and threw it on the couple. The woman suffered first-degree burns while her husband also sustained minor injuries.
Another stall owner who witnessed the incident said he heard the woman calling for help.
"She screamed and said someone had splashed drain cleaner on her. She then asked if anyone had water so she could wash it off," said the witness, who has been selling fruit at the market for 20 years. The witness added that the neighbouring stall owners often argued.
Four other people who were walking past or tried to step in were also injured.
The owner of a nearby fruit stall who tried to intervene suffered second-degree burns.
The suspect, who was also hurt in the incident, was arrested for assault. A police officer also sustained an injury at the scene.
All of the injured were sent to the Caritas Medical Centre and Princess Margaret Hospital.
All of them had upper body injuries, including to the face, shoulder and back.
"The stalls are very close to each other and they have had quarrels before," the district's assistant division commander Leonard Ma Hok-hon said.
Ma said officers were still investigating whether the suspect had any criminal record.
