An acid fiend struck again in a busy Sham Shui Po street last night.

No injuries were reported although police believe one man may have been hurt after "strong acid" in a Blue Girl beer bottle was hurled into Apliu Street.

There are few clues to go on, but the attacker - or attackers - appear to be challenging police.

Officers late last night said the same beer brand had been used in all previous attacks in Sham Shui Po and they are trying to establish if the incidents are linked.

Shocked witnesses to the attack told police the middle-aged pedestrian walked away after washing the liquid from his face with water.

It was the second acid attack in Apliu Street - the site of a popular electronic goods flea market - and the fourth in Sham Shui Po since June last year.

The first attack was in Mong Kok in December 2008.

The beer bottle in last night's attack landed on the corrugated iron canopy of a stall and smashed.

A shopkeeper said she was shocked when she heard the bang.

"The street was quite busy at the time. People were shocked and ran away. Police arrived soon after someone made a report," she said.

Some witnesses said they saw fumes coming from the bottle.

Sham Shui Po police assistant district commander Stephen Tarrant earlier appealed to the man hurt and other witnesses to help in the investigation.

Tarrant was unable to say if there was a link between last night's attack and previous ones in Sham Shui Po, Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei.

"Whether it is connected to previous cases, I don't know. They were random attacks which happened at different times. There were no clues or witnesses. So the investigation is not easy," he said. Tarrant said no closed-circuit television had captured footage of the assailant.

Chief inspector Osbert Chau Hin- hung said there was no evidence to show the perpetrator had purposely chosen Apliu Street to launch the attack.

Within minutes of the incident, dozens of police officers cordoned off the area and recorded the scene with video. They also questioned residents and those who worked in nearby shops and stalls.

Eye-witnesses claimed they saw a man on the rooftop after the bottle hit the canopy. Plainclothes officers were seen searching the rooftop.

More than 100 people have been injured in a spate of acid attacks since December 2008.

So far, one man had been charged in relation to an attack in Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, on the night of December 12 last year, injuring six people.

Lo Ching-ho, 23, appeared in Eastern Magistrates' Court last month and the case was transferred to the High Court for trial next month.

Police said Lo, who was arrested on January 13 in Yuen Long, is not a suspect in four other attacks in Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei.

Contributed by the Standard HK and Patsy Moy and Colleen Lee - 08.03.10

Comment on this article in our FORUM.

Save GingerGuide To My MemberArea