The shocking moment a woman was stabbed by a stranger while walking to work has been captured in terrifying CCTV footage.
Sushi chef Wan Lai, 36, was stabbed near the intersection of Little Bourke Street and Spencer Street, in Melbourne‘s CBD, around 7.40am on October 2.
In CCTV footage of the unprovoked attack, a woman is seen as she ran up behind her, pulled out a knife, looked her in the eye and stabbed Ms Lai once on the right side of her chest before running away.
Shocked witnesses rushed to the chef’s aid just seconds after she sunk to her knees while clutching at her bleeding wound on the pavement.
Ms Lai suffered a punctured lung in the attack.
Police and bystanders cared for her until paramedics arrived at the scene after which she was rushed to the hospital.
Her alleged attacker was captured on other CCTV cameras as she allegedly ran down several side streets.
Ms Lai’s injuries were non-life threatening, a police spokesperson said.
Sushi chef Wan Lai, 36, was allegedly stabbed by a stranger early in the morning in Melbourne’s CBD on Thursday
It is understood Ms Lai was hospitalised for three days while police surveyed the area for her alleged attacker.
‘Police conducted an extensive search of the area, arrested a woman and seized a knife,’ a spokesman said.
‘A 32-year old Melbourne woman was charged with intentionally causing injury and committing an indictable offence while on bail.’
Ms Lai said she recalled someone touching her lower back before she was stabbed.
She suffered a hemopneumothorax which caused blood and air build up around the lung making it difficult to breathe.
Ms Lai’s sister said the alleged attack could have been fatal.
‘She turned to her right this time and there was someone there — but what if she turned to her left? It could have been her heart,’ she told 7News.
Ms Lai has been unable to work since she sustained her injury and has said she feels unsafe in her old neighbourhood.
CCTV footage shows the woman ran up behind Ms Lai and appears to look her in the eye before thrusting with the blade
Ms Lai appears stunned as the woman flees down the street
She then collapses on the sidewalk and is helped by witnesses
Since the alleged attack Ms Lai has moved from her old home into a new one which she considers safer.
Her sister, Ivana, told the publication Ms Lai ‘doesn’t dare to go out anymore’.
‘She can’t stand people walking behind her and keeps looking around nervously,’ her sister said.
The alleged offender appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court the day after the incident and has since been remanded in custody until her next appearance.
