Laser pointers need to be used with care
- The arrest of a student for possessing 10 laser pens may have been mocked but this ignores the reality that lasers can cause harm when misused
A laser pointer would seem a harmless enough gadget; they can be easily bought and are commonly used for presentations, in classrooms and even playing with pets. Hong Kong’s nightly laser show across Victoria Harbour, A Symphony of Lights, has made their beams ubiquitous to citizens.
The arrest by police of a university student for possessing 10 pens on the grounds that they were “offensive weapons” was controversial given the political atmosphere, even though he was later unconditionally released. If they are not illegal and freely available, what is the problem?
Police see matters differently. Lasers, usually higher-powered green and blue ones, are being routinely shone on them by protesters, the beams meant to cause confusion and prevent the taking of photographs.
Manufacturers surely did not have such uses in mind when they were thinking of applications from the classroom to science to search and rescue operations. Officers made clear in a demonstration after the arrest that the beams can not only dazzle, but also burn, a dangerous prospect when shone into eyes or on skin.
Some people are mocking the police response, but they are ignoring a reality; lasers can cause harm when misused. That is the reason Hong Kong has laws requiring that they have safety components fitted and a warning label in Chinese and English.