A suspect in the Lhasa riot has confessed slashing an innocent passerby with a long knife, Lhasa police said on Saturday.

Gungqug Toinzhub, 32, was the No. 2 suspect in a list of wanted by local police for participation in the March 14 riot. He was nabbed by police in the Ramogia Monastery in Lhasa on April 6.

The suspect told Xinhua that he slashed a passerby thrice on the Beijing East Road. He was now remorseful.

The knife was 30 centimeters long as showed by a police officer, who said Gungqug Toinzhub had stayed in Nepal for one and a half years after he crossed the border illegally in 2000.

An eyewitness said the suspect holding the knife in hand was taking the lead in attacking innocent people, and could have injured more if not stopped by a Tibetan man with long hair.

(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2008)