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.