Surveillance footage from North District Hospital in Sheung Shui appears to show two officers hitting the elderly man on the night of June 25
Democratic Party Community Officer Edward Kwok Long-fung; Legislator Lam Cheuk-ting; the victim’s son Ken Chung and Mr Chung, met the media at the Legislative Council Complex to speak out about the alleged assault.[UPDATE; Tuesday, 4:28 pm] At the daily police conference on Tuesday, representatives announced two officers are under arrest on suspicion of assault in regards to this case.
Two uniform police officers allegedly assaulted an arrested man in a public hospital in June, according to security footage obtained by Legislator Lam Cheuk-ting from the Hospital Authority.
The lawmaker held a press conference on Tuesday, together with two family members of the man involved in the case. Lam said 60-year-old Chung was drunk and got into a dispute on the night of June 25, and was arrested for assaulting police officers. Chung was then sent to the North District Hospital in Sheung Shui and was kept in custody in a single ward in the emergency room.
According to the footage shown in the press conference, the time stamp shows Chung was tied to a hospital bed inside a private room with two uniform police officers at around 2.39am on June 26.
The police officers, who were wearing gloves, tried to cover up Chung’s mouth and nose; they also slapped Chung in the face, pulled his hair and flashed bright lights directly into his eyes. In the later part of the video, they punched Chung in the stomach, took off his pants and assaulted his lower body with the police baton.
Chung’s two sons said in the press conference that their father was severely traumatised after the incident. They filed a complaint to the Complaint Against Police Office, but there has not been any follow-up.
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Lam said the police’s actions were shocking and infuriating; he urged the police to suspend the officers involved and launch a criminal investigation. He also demanded the the management of the force pay more attention to the mental well-being of police officers.
The police said they are very concerned about the case, and it has been taken up by the Regional Crime Unit of New Territories South for criminal investigation.