19th December 2025 – (Hong Kong) A 35-year-old man who fled from police custody at Queen Elizabeth Hospital while undergoing an X-ray examination has been arrested in Yuen Long after more than four hours on the run.
The man, surnamed Lam, had been under police guard at the hospital on Friday in connection with multiple robbery, theft and making-off-without-payment cases. According to initial reports, Lam was being transported in a wheelchair by medical staff from a ward on C4 floor to Block H for an X-ray CT scan. After the procedure, he was wheeled back towards his original location.
At about 11.40am, near the C1 area, Lam is said to have suddenly stood up from the wheelchair, removed his footwear and bolted. CCTV footage later showed him barefoot, wearing a white top and hospital-issue trousers, sprinting down a staircase and heading in the direction of Block S and Gascoigne Road. Police quickly cordoned off part of the hospital, including an area in the first-floor lobby of Block C where a wheelchair, a pair of slippers and a dark-coloured garment were left behind, and launched a large-scale search involving officers from the Yau Tsim District Crime Squad and other units.
Despite the rapid response, Lam managed to evade capture for several hours. Sources said that during his escape he frequently took taxis in an apparent attempt to shake off pursuing officers, and in some instances allegedly failed to pay the fares.
At around 4pm, more than four hours after his disappearance, officers tracked him down in Yuen Long. Images from the scene show Lam being pinned to the ground by police and restrained, with a New Territories taxi visible nearby. He was subsequently taken back into custody.
Police had earlier revealed that Lam is suspected of involvement in 10 cases of robbery, theft and making off without payment across Hong Kong, allegedly committed between 26th November and 16th December and involving more than HK$51,000 in total. At a previous press conference, officers said the suspect was believed to have targeted lone pedestrians in quieter locations during early morning and late-night hours, snatching their handbags or backpacks, and to have struck during peak periods at busy wet markets, stealing cash from plastic cash tubes or tills before slipping away into the crowds.
Following the escape, officers have been taking statements from the medical staff involved in Lam’s transfer to reconstruct the sequence of events and to assess whether custody protocols at the hospital need to be reviewed.
The post Queen Elizabeth Hospital escapee recaptured in Yuen Long after barefoot flight appeared first on Dimsum Daily.
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