The 'Polish Hannibal Lecter' murder suspect captured in Malta last February attacked two people in his Warsaw prison yesterday, Polish media have reported.

Kajetan Poznanski reportedly tried to strangle a prison psychologist and then attacked a prison guard with a shard of glass while undergoing a medical examination. He was overpowered and is now being treated as a dangerous prisoner.

Mr Poznanski is accused of murdering a young teacher in her apartment in early February. Prosecutors allege he first killed the woman using a samurai sword, dismembered her body, took it back to his apartment using a taxi and then set the house alight.

The decapitated body was subsequently found in a black bag. 

He fled Poland before police could arrest him, but was apprehended at City Gate, Valletta, by plain clothes policemen two weeks later following a Europe-wide manhunt. He was reportedly staying in a hotel in Valletta and was believed to be en route to North Africa, having made his way to Malta via Germany and Italy. 

Authorities then extradited him to Poland on February 26 aboard a Polish military plane.

Mr Poznanski subsequently confessed to the murder, telling a Warsaw district court that he wanted to murder “to fight his own weaknesses.” He said that he had picked his victim at random after browsing the internet.

He was dubbed the 'Polish Hannibal Lecter' following reports that he was obsessed with Thomas Harris’ book The Silence of the Lambs, which stars the fictional cannibalistic serial killer.

A court session scheduled for tomorrow had been put back following his frenzied attack on prison officials. Experts have sought an extension, saying Mr Poznanski must undergo psychological assessments to determine his sanity.

According to Polish media, the court has acceded to the request and extended Mr Poznanski’s detention to August.