A man who tied up, gagged and stabbed his neighbour has been jailed for ten years.

Man Fai Lancaster Li, 57, taped his neighbours arms and legs, pushed him onto a bed and stabbed him three times last summer.

Li stuffed a sock into the 37-year-old man’s mouth and secured it with thick tape in a flat above the Emperor Chinese Restaurant in Stonecot Hill.

He demanded £200 and stabbed the victim in the neck and back and told him to call his brother to see if he had any money. Li stole just £15 in cash and helped himself to food.

The victim fought back and managed to grab the knife blade causing it to bend and snap. He managed to break free, overpower his attacker and get help.

Police were called by a member of the restaurant staff just before 12am and police arrived to find Li being kept in the room by a restaurant worker wielding a baseball bat.

Li told officers: “I have robbed him. He wouldn’t give me my stuff so I stabbed him.”

The victim told police he had returned home to his bedsit from work and was preparing to go out when he was attacked by Li.

He suffered a puncture wound to his neck, two stab wounds to his upper and middle back and multiple cuts and scratches to his body.

Li, of Stonecot Hill, Sutton, was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday, 26 February. He received ten years for GBH with intent, six years for false imprisonment and four years for robbery - the sentences to run concurrently.

Sutton Detective Constable Nikki Allardyce, who led the investigation, said: "The victim in this case came incredibly close to death and has shown great bravery and fortitude in working with police to bring about this successful outcome."


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