Armed man takes over Little Ipoh eatery in Melbourne

Armed with an "edged weapon", a man lays siege to the restaurant today, over what is believed to be a dispute with a business in the building.

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KUALA LUMPUR: An armed man staged an hour-long siege in a restaurant called Little Ipoh in Melbourne’s central business district today, smashing windows and throwing items at police before finally surrendering.

In a report by Australian daily The Age, the man was armed with what Victoria police described as an “edged weapon”, looking very much like a meat cleaver, and had smashed two windows on the second floor of the Little Ipoh restaurant at La Trobe Street at around 2pm local time.

Looking agitated, pacing up and down and loudly addressing the crowd that had gathered, he was also seen at one time squatting on the window ledge and erratically banging the weapon in his hand on a metal-sounding surface.

The man, who was visibly bleeding when he injured his hand upon smashing the window panes, had at times dangled his legs out of the window and asked for his mother.

According to the report, he threw a large piece of window glass at police before putting on sunglasses and lying down at around 2.30pm, making a “V” symbol to the crowd gathered outside.

The man also held up his mobile phone and looked as if he was taking a “selfie” before eventually exiting the building a little after 3pm with his hands above his head.

It is believe the armed man had a dispute with a business in the building, but did not make any threats to the public or police.