On June 2, a double homicide occurred in Plaza Hollywood, Diamond Hill, Hong Kong, where two women died of serious injuries.
The suspect was charged with two counts of murder. At the initial court hearing held on June 5, the case was postponed until June 19 at the Kwun Tong Magistrate.
Police received reports of a man attacking two women with a knife. A 26-year-old was pronounced dead on site, while a 22-year-old did not survive her severe injuries after being sent to the hospital.
Video footage and photos online showed that a chef named Fai confronted the murderer holding two stools to stop him from wounding more people. Hong Kong citizens praised Chef Fai for his courage and righteousness and commended his heroic act, reflecting human nature’s good side.
In an interview with the media on June 3, Fai, a 64-year-old restaurant chef, who did not want his full name used, recounted the event. He said he was having his meal break at the restaurant at about 5:15 p.m. on June 2, 2023, when he thought he heard children screaming. He did not take notice at first, but then someone called out and said, “Someone is stabbing people!”
Fai immediately headed to the shopping area, where he saw a man kneeling on the ground with a knife.
Chef Fai returned to the restaurant entrance and quickly took two round stools before running toward the suspect.
Fai said he was so nervous that he did not realize another victim was on the ground.
“As I was walking around the murderer, I was terrified. He had a 12-inch knife.” Chef Fai felt threatened, so he whacked the murderer’s forehead with one of the stools he was holding.
The murderer looked stunned and walked closer to Chef Fai. The brave but terrified chef felt threatened by the 12-inch knife, so he smacked the murderer’s forehead again with a round chair.
The murderer then just stood dumbfounded.
Subsequently, the employees evacuated the shopping mall while paramedics and two passers-by performed first aid on the injured victims.
Meanwhile, the chef kept his eyes on the murderer in case he decided to attack someone again.
“He broke down and cried desolately.” The chef said.
Chef Fai then stood between the perpetrator and the residents performing first aid on the victims.
After the police arrived, Chef Fai left the scene.
The heroic chef emphasized that his first thought was to stop the murderer from hurting others.
He said he did not like the murderer hurting others and wanted to stop him. “There was not much time for me to think or be afraid.”
Chef Fai and the murderer had zero verbal exchange; he did not look the murderer straight in the eye, worried that might be too provocative.
When asked why he used round stools to go against the murderer, the chef said that was the only thing available.
“The murderer had a 12-inch knife. I could not approach empty-handed. I was not trained. Besides, I had no choice.”
Chef Fai said he was only doing what he could.
He jokingly added that he got in “a lot of trouble” after he got home. His family told him off for not thinking about them before doing something high-risk or dangerous.
Braver Than The Police
After seeing his heroic acts in the footage, netizens flooded forums with praises in the comments.A netizen wrote, “Chef Fai is more courageous than any police officer or security guard in Plaza Hollywood.”
Another commented, “It is astonishing that someone is still willing to step in and help nowadays.”
Others also were relieved; if it were not for the chef, the murderer probably would keep on killing.
Murder Suspect In Custody
Sze To Shing-Kwong, an unemployed 39 years old male, was charged with two counts of murder. The court appearance was on the morning of June 5, 2023, at Kwun Tong Magistrate.The police said the two deceased women were friends. According to CCTV footage, the murder suspect had no contact with the two victims before the fatal attack.
Sze To Shing-Kwong was charged with murdering two women, Fong Hiu-tung and Lau Kai-hei, on June 2, 2023, at Plaza Hollywood.
The case has been postponed to June 19, 2023, pending the defendant’s two psychiatric reports to determine if he would be fit to answer.
Public Reaction
The case has stirred safety concerns.Some citizens expressed online, “There is no freedom of expression, no freedom of the press. The society is so oppressed that there will only be more mentally ill people.”
“Who said Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world?
