A man has been charged with murder after a restaurant worker was allegedly stabbed to death yards from shoppers on Oxford St in broad daylight.
Emergency services rushed to Poland Street where Li Sung, 58, was found with stab wounds on Monday lunchtime.
Despite best efforts to save Sung, from Southwark, he died at the scene in front of horrified tourists and shoppers.
Li Hunan, 60, of New Malden, has been charged with his murder, Metropolitan Police said.
He is due to appear at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Met Police said Sung’s next of kin have been informed.
Enquiries into the circumstances continue, led by detectives from Specialist Crime.
A witness earlier told the Standard: “I was told two chefs or at least two guys from restaurants were involved in a fight and one was stabbed.”
A worker at a pub on Poland Street said: “The incident happened inside a door next to a restaurant. There were police everywhere.
“A bloke was arrested, he was calm, quite placid. They cuffed him and took him off.”
Tourist Beth Ellison said: “It’s a shock and a tragedy. I was just passing and I saw a man being taken off. It was all happening near a restaurant.”
Poland Street is a turning off Oxford Street, which is one of the busiest shopping areas in Europe and attracts tens of thousands of visitors per day, and runs into Soho, another busy area known for its nightlife.
A spokesperson for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “The mayor’s thoughts are with the friends and family of the victim following this appalling attack in our city today.
“A man has been arrested and the mayor remains in close contact with the Met Police about the incident.
“Each death through violence in London is a tragedy, which is why the mayor’s top priority will always be tackling crime as well as the complex causes of crime.”
