A series of acid attacks on a busy Hong Kong pedestrian shopping street exposed gaps in public surveillance and prompted repeated escalations in police reward offers.
Key Facts
- Attack span
- 2008 to 2010
- Location
- Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mong Kok
- Substance used
- Drain cleaner (corrosive liquid) in plastic bottles
- Initial reward offered
- 100,000 HKD
- Raised reward after 2nd incident
- 300,000 HKD
- 3rd incident timing
- Occurred the day surveillance cameras were turned on
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
An unknown perpetrator or perpetrators began targeting shoppers on Sai Yeung Choi Street South, a busy pedestrian shopping area in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. The motive behind the attacks was not publicly established, and the identity of the attacker remained unclear throughout the series of incidents.
Between 2008 and 2010, plastic bottles filled with drain cleaner were thrown from height onto shoppers on Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. At least five incidents occurred, with one taking place on the very day newly installed surveillance cameras were activated in the area.
Authorities escalated their response by raising the public reward for information from HK$100,000 to HK$300,000 and installing surveillance cameras in the area. Despite these measures, attacks continued, including one after the government announced new counter-strategies, highlighting the difficulty of deterring the perpetrator through reactive security measures.