KOTA KINABALU: The man who ran amok inside a surau at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport here on Wednesday (Nov 3) has been apprehended.

       The suspect, a 47-year-old local who was undergoing psychiatric treatment and on medication, had also used a knife to threaten those who wanted to pray in the surau at about 2.30pm.

       Kota Kinabalu OCPD ACP Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said the man was reported to have gone to the prayer room and started pointing and swinging his knife at passers-by.

       As soon as policemen arrived, they tried to coax him to let go of the weapon and to calm down, he said.

       "Policemen were forced to act fast to get him to stop his dangerous act. One of our men was injured in the process," he said.

       ACP Zaidi said the suspect was later caught, while the policeman who received a cut following his attempt to stop the suspect from hurting anyone received outpatient treatment at a nearby clinic.

       Initial investigations found that the suspect had run amok as he did not take his medicine.

       They found an OKU card on the suspect, as well as an appointment card for Hospital Mesra Bukit Padang, a hospital which, among others, treats patients with mental illness.