Police slammed over Mong Kok ‘violence’ after video of officer hitting peaceful protesters emerges
Protesters complain of officers punching, kicking and smacking them on the head with batons during operation to clear Mong Kok
An officer caught on video hitting peaceful protesters with his baton will be removed from the current operation, police said last night after the force came under fire for abusing its power and using "disproportionate" force to disperse Occupy Central activists in Mong Kok.
Pro-democracy demonstrators yesterday recounted the police hostility they experienced during the two-day clearance operation at the occupied zone.
"Officers pinned me down, limiting my movement, causing wounds to my face and neck," said Joshua Wong Chi-fung, convenor of student group Scholarism, who was among the 169 people arrested. "They even attempted six or seven times to hurt my body, including my private parts."
Shum's account was similar to that of the League of Social Democrats' Raphael Wong Ho-ming, who said police pinned him down and stepped on his head. People Power's Tam Tak-chi said his eye became bloodshot after an officer pushed his head to the ground.
A video by broadcaster DBC showed police dealing with people who appeared to be peacefully leaving the occupied zone. The video showed an officer using his baton to hit two people walking by on their back and waist, and another using a shield to push a man.
"Our anxieties and concerns go particularly to police who apparently exercised disproportionate powers and used disproportionate force on civilians," Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit said, while calling for protesters to exercise restraint.
Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, who has made known that he has a mentally disabled daughter, said he was verbally abused by police while observing the situation in Mong Kok.
"I nodded to an officer, but he said, 'Don't you nod to me. Go home and take care of your daughter, she's sick," Cheung said. "I feel very sad. Some officers are filled with hatred."
The Professional Teachers' Union slammed Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's administration for not compromising over Hong Kong's political reform, resulting in a breakdown of trust between police and the people.
In the small hours yesterday, hundreds of protesters repeatedly tried to re-occupy roads hours after traffic on Nathan Road returned to normal. Police and the crowd engaged in a fair bit of pushing and shoving.
One man was left with a bloodied head and several others were subdued and taken away. Police reinforcements were sent and red flags raised, warning people against charging.
A police spokesman said a minimum level of force was used after protesters failed to comply with multiple warnings, tried to block the roads, charged at police lines and incited others to provoke the officers.
He said the officer seen hitting people with his baton in the DBC video would be "removed from the current operation" and called for information to help the force investigate the matter.
Larry Kwok Lam-kwong, chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Council, declined to comment on whether the police had used excessive force, as it had yet to receive reports about the whole situation.
The IPCC said the police's in-house watchdog, the Complaints Against Police Office, had received 13 complaints regarding the Mong Kok clearance on Tuesday and Wednesday.
