KOTA KINABALU: A man who ran amok inside a surau at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport has been apprehended.

       The suspect, a 47-year-old local who is 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 on Wednesday.

       OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said the man was reported to have gone to the prayer room, where he 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.

       “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 Mohd Zaidi added that the suspect was eventually subdued.

       One of the police officers, who had a small cut from the knife after he attempted 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 had not taken his medicine.

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