Former Occupy activist nabbed at Hong Kong airport over alleged involvement in Mong Kok riot as groups slam police probe efforts
Student-led group Scholarism confirms member Derek Lam Shun-hin was arrested but claims he neither attacked police nor committed violent acts
A member of the student-led group Scholarism was arrested at Hong Kong International Airport’s departure hall on Wednesday morning, on suspicion of involvement in the riot in Mong Kok on Monday night.
Confirmation from the group came about an hour after police said they arrested a man related to the unrest in Mong Kok.
In a message sent by Scholarism, a spokesperson said the arrestee was Derek Lam Shun-hin.
READ MORE: 61 nabbed for Mong Kok riot, says Hong Kong police chief, with more arrests to come
The group demanded Lam’s immediate release, saying the student was only in Mong Kok to buy food from street hawkers.
“He left Mong Kok at about 2.15am on Tuesday morning, and did not attack any policemen or did anything violent,” the message stated.
The spokesperson added that Lam was leaving Hong Kong to travel to Taipei with his family.
Scholarism later released another message, accusing the police of searching Lam’s home without a court warrant.
“It was lucky that Lam’s lawyer arrived three minutes after Lam and the police entered Lam’s home, and the police was forced to abort the search,” a spokesperson said. “This episode shows that the police have abused their power to the extreme, and ignored protocols in their work.”
