Hong Kong: A man arrested in Hong Kong at the weekend after one of a spate of acid attacks in the city is no longer a suspect, police said on Monday, leaving the real culprit at large.
About 30 people were injured on Saturday night after bottles of acid were hurled from a building above the busy Temple Street night market, the latest in a string of unsolved attacks that has terrorised the city of seven million.
Authorities spotted the man on the rooftop of a building next to the scene, later telling media he was arrested in connection with the attack.
But police said on Monday that the 39-year-old was actually arrested for skipping a court date in an unrelated white-collar crime case.
"He is not involved in the acid attack and our investigation continues," a police spokeswoman said.
"He skipped a court date -- that was why he was arrested. It just happened that there was an acid attack on that day in the same area."
It was unclear why the man, a tenant of the building, was hiding on the rooftop, but he might have thought police were in the area looking for him.
Since late 2008, there have been at least six acid attacks in several shopping districts across Hong Kong, leaving more than 100 people injured.
Bureau Report
