A Hong Kong McDonald’s employee has been arrested after he allegedly attacked his manager with a knife, leaving the victim with multiple head and neck injuries.
Police apprehended a 28-year-old man on Sunday on suspicion of wounding his 38-year-old supervisor with intent at the McDonald’s branch on Hill Road in Sai Wan where they worked. The attack came after the pair had an argument over the suspect’s work performance, the Force said.
According to the police, the incident took place at around 3.25 pm when the suspect and the victim were working in the fast food restaurant. They had “verbal conflicts” not long before the suspect left the shop and picked up two knives from a nearby butcher shop, Chief Inspector Wong Yu-fai of the Western District Crime unit told the press in the early hours of Monday.
The worker was said to have returned to the McDonald’s branch and attacked the manager’s head. The suspect then fled the scene immediately. The victim was left with a 10-centimetre wound on the back of his head and another wound on his neck that was eight centimetres long. He also suffered fractures to his skull.
The Hong Kong Island emergency unit arrived at the fast food restaurant within two minutes of receiving reports about the incident and began a manhunt in the nearby area. The worker was intercepted by officers on patrol and personnel from the anti-terrorism unit around the intersection of Des Voeux Road West and Western Street around 10 minutes later.
The manager was sent to Queen Mary Hospital for treatment and underwent surgery. He was placed in the intensive care unit and remains in a serious condition, the Hospital Authority told HKFP on Monday.
The 29-year-old worker has been detained pending investigation, as the case was passed to the Western Crime Bureau.
“Police would make an appeal that violence cannot resolve problems. If citizens see any sudden outbreak of violence, they should first make sure their own safety, and then call the police for help as soon as possible.”
Asked if the pair had quarrelled before the day of the attack, Wong told reporters that the police could only learn about their daily interactions after speaking to the victim.
There was no evidence at present to suggest that the suspect had mental health issues, the chief inspector said, adding the Force would not disclose the arrestee’s criminal record.
Earlier this month, Secretary for Security Chris Tang pledged to deploy more police officers to conduct “high-profile patrol[s]” in Hong Kong, after multiple wounding incidents took place in the city. Chief Executive John Lee also vowed to bolster mental healthcare after two women were killed in a violent stabbing at a shopping mall in Diamond Hill in early June.
