Two arrested as parallel trading protests descend into chaos at Hong Kong border town Sheung Shui, while lawmaker accuses police of targeting innocent man, who tries to jump off bridge ‘out of panic’
- One young man, suspected of unlawful assembly, attempts to jump off bridge in apparent bid to avoid police inquiries
- Lawmaker says police were pursuing innocent man, but union accuses Andrew Wan of ‘lying and misleading’ the public, adding officers saved suspect’s life
A masked man who tried to jump off a footbridge “out of panic” was one of two suspects arrested on Sunday in relation to anti-parallel trader protests in Sheung Shui, a border district in Hong Kong.
But pro-democracy lawmaker Andrew Wan Siu-kin accused police of arresting the wrong person, saying the young man was not involved in the protests but nearly lost his life.
A police union hit back at Wan’s “misleading” comments, saying officers had rescued the man by stopping him from leaping off the bridge.
“The commander was chasing after a first young man [at other side of the footbridge], and the alleged young person has just been standing there,” Wan told reporters in the early hours of Sunday. “He then jumped off the bridge out of panic.”
The rally finished peacefully but later descended into clashes including an hour-long standoff between police and protesters.
About 30,000 people took part in the main rally itself, according to the organisers, while the police estimate was about 4,000.
Saturday’s demonstration was held in opposition to the influx of parallel traders, who bought their stock tax-free in Hong Kong to resell it in mainland China. Residents said that led to higher retail prices along the city side of the border.
News footage viewed by the Post showed the incident started off with a commander dashing into a shopping centre in Sheung Shui.
The officer then came out of the mall to chase after one young man, who moved to jump off the bridge and was pulled back by photojournalists and police officers.
In a statement issued in early hours of Sunday, the police said the man, understood to be surnamed Ng and only recently turned an adult, was suspected of obstructing the police for advancing on their cordon and was arrested for unlawful assembly.
It said another man was arrested for failing to settle an outstanding penalty.
“When the police tried to approach the man for inquiry, the man suddenly escaped,” the police said.
“When arriving at a footbridge connecting Landmark North [shopping mall], he strode over the railings and attempted to jump off the footbridge. Police officers immediately held the man back and rescued him.”
Wan, who was standing at the footbridge for at least 15 minutes, said the man arrested on the bridge was peacefully standing there, while another protester originally targeted had already left via another entrance. He said he and a social worker also at the scene would be ready to testify in the case.
“I hope the police did not arrest the wrong person, he almost lost his life,” Wan said.
“He was like a lot of residents who were only passing by on their way home, it will be unreasonable to charge him for unlawful assembly.”
When confronting the officers, Wan complained he was hit by a police baton in the temple area of his head.
Four journalists were pushed by police or hit with their shields while covering the protests, according to the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
Wan’s fellow party member Lam Cheuk-ting urged police to exercise restraint in handling another major rally in Sha Tin on Sunday afternoon.
A spokesman for the Junior Police Officers’ Association challenged claims that multiple scenes of news footage showed the bridge incident originated from police chasing down the man.
He said the images they had seen showed police colleagues had saved his life and criticised Wan for “lying and misleading” the public.
In response to a statement issued by 24 lawmakers criticising police action in Sheung Shui, assistant commissioner of police Rebecca Lam Hiu-tong said the force expressed utmost regret and disappointment seeing lawmakers turning blind eyes to the violence.
Meanwhile, police said three dispensaries and a money changer in various locations in Sheung Shui called them on Sunday morning after realising their security cameras and shutters were sprayed with paint and the keyholes were also stuck with foreign objects.
