Police in Liaoning Province caught a man suspected of stabbing several women in the buttocks at night to cause a public panic so that his wife would return home early.

Police caught Dai Biao, 36, of Yinzhou District, Tieling City in a lane after they received three reports of women being stabbed about 9pm on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.

Dai tried to stab a policeman with an awl when he was stopped for questioning, the report said.

One officer fired a warning shot before two other policemen tackled Dai to the ground, the report said.

Police said Dai confessed that he stabbed four women when they were walking alone on the street that night and admitted more than six other stabbings.

Dai said he wanted to cause panic among women around his neighborhood so his wife, who always came home late at night, would return early.

(Shanghai Daily December 29, 2007)