Naeem Davis: 'On Drugs, Heard Voices In Head'

A homeless man accused of pushing another man in front of an oncoming subway train has reportedly said he was high on drugs and fighting voices in his head at the time of the incident.

Naeem Davis, 30, was charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday and ordered to be held without bail following the death of 58-year-old Ki Suk Han in New York City.

In an interview in prison with the New York Post , Davis said Mr Han had grabbed and threatened him, and that the voices in his head coaxed him into pushing Mr Han.

Davis said he did not mean to kill Mr Han.

"From the depths of my heart, I didn't mean to kill him", Davis said.

He said he had no time to pull Mr Han off the tracks because "it happened so fast". He also said he was "under the influence".

Davis is due back in court on Tuesday.

Earlier in the week, Davis told reporters he was attacked first.

Prosecutor James Lin told the judge at Davis' court hearing that Davis saw the train strike Mr Han before leaving the Times Square station on Monday.

"The defendant never once offered any aid to the victim as the train approached the platform and in fact, this defendant watched the train hit the victim," Mr Lin said.

But Davis' legal aid lawyer, Stephen Pokart, said his client reportedly "was involved in an incident with a man who was drunk and angry".

A witness, Leigh Weingus, told The New York Times that Mr Han appeared to be aggressive toward Davis.

"The victim kept saying 'Hey! Hey!' at the suspect, getting closer and closer to him," she said. "At first Davis appeared calm, saying 'I don't know you, you don't know me, get out of my face'."

Mr Han's wife had said she had argued with her husband that morning and that he had been drinking.

Mr Han's death got widespread attention not only for its horrific nature, but because he was photographed a split-second before the train trapped him and seemingly no one attempted to come to his aid.

A freelance photographer for the New York Post was waiting for a train when he said he saw a man approach Mr Han at the station, get into an altercation with him and push him into the train's path.

A Post photo showed Mr Han with his head turned toward the train, his arms reaching up but unable to climb off the tracks in time.

The photographer, R. Umar Abbasi, said he was trying to alert the driver to what was going on by flashing his camera, adding that he was shocked that people nearer to the victim did not try to help.