Elderly woman in hospital after neighbour in MacPherson chases and attacks her

Feeling uneasy after noticing a neighbour standing outside her home, a MacPherson resident decided to made a U-turn towards the lift.

But the 82-year-old woman was chased down by the male neighbour instead, who attacked her in the lift of Block 62 Circuit Road at about 12.30pm on Sunday (Jan 5), reported 8world.

Tearfully recounting the incident to 8world, the woman's daughter, surnamed Wu, said her mother was kicked in the chest and then to the ground, and her head had hit the floor.

"My mum kept shouting for help, but no one dared to approach," added the hairdresser. 

CCTV footage show the man running after the elderly woman and into the lift, with the latter's shrieks captured in the video.

The elderly woman managed to escape to the first floor, where other residents called the police and ambulance for help.

Wu said her mother suffered multiple injuries from the assault. She vomited in hospital and experienced palpitations and was placed under observation.

She told Lianhe Zaobao that she and her mother are currently renting the MacPherson flat and had moved in last July.

This neighbour, reportedly with special needs, often walked along the common corridor and would frequently greet them.

Residents would greet the man back but eventually stopped doing so.

"Whenever he [doesn't get a response], he will have an outburst," Wu said.

She added that the man assaulted her last September, and had knocked on their window multiple times.

Wu had lodged multiple police reports against him, but he would reportedly return home after being admitted to hospital for observation each time.

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Other neighbours living in the block told 8world about similar disturbances and said they had also filed police reports against the man.

Speaking to 8world, the man's mother said her son has autism and his emotions are easily affected by others.

The man liked to greet his neighbours, and had become depressed when they stopped responding to him, she explained, surmising that her son's behaviour might be due to him thinking that the neighbours disliked them.

The mother told Zaobao she had tried to stop her son and apologised to the injured neighbour after the incident, but did not get their forgiveness.

She said that she will look after her son with greater care and hopes for neighbours to be friendlier and interact with him.

The police told AsiaOne they received a call for assistance at Block 62 Circuit Road on Sunday afternoon.

A 82-year-old woman was conveyed conscious to the hospital and a 28-year-old man was apprehended under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act.

The man is assisting with ongoing investigations for voluntarily causing hurt.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com