Police search for suspects after elderly homeless man assaulted, belongings torched in Tsz Wan Shan

Police have returned to a footbridge in Tsz Wan Shan to gather evidence after two men allegedly assaulted a 75-year-old homeless man and set his belongings on fire in the early hours of Tuesday.

The incident occurred at about 3.48am, when residents and security staff noticed a fire on the footbridge at the junction of Wan Wah Street and Wai Wah Street and alerted the authorities.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and extinguished a blaze among piles of clutter on the bridge. A nearby motorcycle was also found burned.

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Police discovered the 75-year-old victim, surnamed Hui, with injuries to his left forearm. He was conscious and was taken by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.

Preliminary investigations indicate that Hui was attacked by two men believed to be aged between their twenties and thirties. The suspects allegedly used a roadside sign to strike the elderly man before setting fire to his cardboard and personal belongings, then fled toward Tsz Wan Shan Centre.

Sources said Hui had been living on the staircase of the footbridge, where he stored his possessions, and it is understood that the attackers may have held a prior grudge against him.

Hui was discharged from hospital later in the morning but did not return to the scene, which remained cordoned off. Photographs from the site showed charred remnants of his belongings still scattered along parts of the bridge.

Some nearby residents said they rarely use the footbridge and were unaware that homeless individuals were staying there.

The case has been classified as assault and arson and has been handed over to the Wong Tai Sin District Investigation Team. Police said inquiries are continuing and no arrests have been made so far.