NEW YORK (AFP) - A 34-year-old man has been arrested and charged with second degree murder for allegedly pushing a man to his death under a New York subway train, police said Wednesday.

The incident took place in the Bronx, where the victim, Wai Kuen Kwok, was waiting for the D train, at the 167th street stop, with his wife.

The couple were headed to Chinatown, in lower Manhattan.

Police had released a video of a suspect pushing the 61-year-old man from the platform on Sunday just as a train arrived in the station, shortly as his horrified wife watched helplessly.

The victim and his attacker did not appear to know each other and had not argued, witnesses said.

US media reported that the homeless suspect, Kevin Darden, has been arrested on more than 30 occasions.

He is due to appear before a judge on Wednesday, said a spokeswoman for the Bronx district attorney.

Darden was arrested on Tuesday outside his mother's home in the Bronx.

Police said he is also suspected of assaulting a 51-year-old man on a Manhattan subway platform on Nov 6.

Darden was also arrested on Nov 9 for allegedly stealing a tourist's wallet in Times Square, The New York Post reported.

But he was released after the witness left the United States.

Every year, dozens of people are killed by the subway in New York through accident or suicide.

However, this is first known incident of a person being pushed to his or her death on the tracks since December 2012, when two were killed in separate attacks.