Knife-wielder nabbed near Ramos

Knife-wielder nabbed near Ramos

MANILA (AFP): Police in the southern Philippine city of Iligan yesterday arrested a man carrying a knife who attempted to approach President Fidel Ramos, the presidential palace said, denying he had tried to stab the Philippine leader.

Press undersecretary Marcelo Lagmay said the suspect, identified as Eufemio Mahusay and armed with a six-inch kitchen knife, was subdued by the police after a scuffle at a slaughterhouse which Ramos was inaugurating.

Lagmay said the man was not an employee of the slaughterhouse but merely someone "who was eager to see the president." "There was no attempt at all to stab the president," Lagmay said, adding that relatives of the suspect said he had a habit of carrying a knife around.

Earlier radio and television reports said Mahusay was detained after forcing his way into the slaughterhouse and trying to stab Ramos. A policeman was wounded during the scuffle with the suspect.