A 30-year-old local man was arrested in Tsing Yi in the New Territories on Wednesday in connection with nine case of needles being placed in bus seats in Kong Kong.
The unemployed man is believe to be linked to at least three of the nine cases over the past week where needles were found inserted in the seats on vehicles of the Kowloon Motors Bus company, news website HK01.com reported.
Chan Yan, the assistant commander of Shantin district, said police believed the man was behind the incidents that happened on June 27 and 28 on bus routes 41A, 48X and 81, resulting in three passengers being injured.
Chan said police analyzed the bus routes, the districts involved and the timing of the offenses and made the arrest at 11pm on Wednesday in a public housing apartment in Cheung Fat Estate in Tsing Yi.
Seven sewing needles were seized in the man’s apartment. Four were 4.7cm long, which matched the length of the needles found on the buses.
“The motive of the culprit may be related to his grievance about the bus service. He mentioned about some buses [skipping] bus stops,” Chan said, adding that more arrests could not be ruled out, Radio Television Hong Kong reported.
Chan also said police were concerned about these cases because there was not a specific target and the incidents posed a threat to public safety and had created fear in the community. Police also warned against any copycat actions.
The nine cases reported to police since June 27 involved five sewing needles, three acupuncture needles and one bead needle.