Corrosive liquid dripping from the ceiling of Hong Kong shopping mall Skyline Plaza in Tsuen Wan yesterday left eight persons with injuries.

Police say that just after midday the liquid had dripped from two holes on to two males and six females between the ages of 10 and 60 years.

Some mall visitors tripped and fell in the ensuing panic.

Senior police investigator Raina Cheng Ka-wing says the victims had slight head, neck and arm injuries. “They were taking the escalator at the time and were not aware of the dripping liquid.”

Cheng says mall staff on Saturday had discovered a clogged pipe in the pantry of a staff lounge on the third floor. Repair men from the mall later pumped corrosive liquid into the pipe in an effort to clear it. The substance had been diluted with water.

Because the pipe was old and dilapidated, the liquid had leaked through, says Cheng. Nobody has been arrested but “we do not rule out the possibility that someone will have to bear criminal responsibility”.

Cheng says the mall was not crowded at the time of the leak, and the injured customers were all sent to Yan Chai Hospital.