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October 22, 2019

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68 arrested in HK for wearing banned masks

Source: Agencies | 00:00 UTC+8 October 22, 2019 | Print Edition

HONG Kong police said yesterday that they had arrested 68 people between Friday and Sunday who were suspected of participating in or wearing face masks at unauthorized assemblies, as well as inflicting criminal damage.

The arrested include 53 males and 15 females, aged between 15 and 67. They are suspected of being involved in burglary, bodily harm, attending unlawful demonstrations, wearing masks at the unlawful rallies and concealing offensive weapons, Chief Superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch Tse Chun-chung told a press conference.

Since Sunday afternoon, a large group of protesters blocked carriageways in the vicinity of Tsim Sha Tsui and used miscellaneous objects to obstruct roads despite the police’s objection, thereby seriously affecting the flow of traffic, the police said in a statement.

Furthermore, some rioters even vandalized shops, restaurants and banks, and set fires.

Besides hurling a large number of petrol bombs at Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station, the rioters created road blocks by setting fires, seriously threatening the safety of ordinary residents.

“No violent behavior will be tolerated,” reiterated the police, vowing to take resolute action to restore public order and bring all lawbreakers to justice.

Regional commander of Kowloon West Cheuk Hau-yip said that over the past four months or more, violence and rioting have been happening routinely. Soon after assemblies started, masked thugs dressed in black went on rampage to commit arson and vandalism.

The police found recently that the rioters possessed homemade and suspected bombs, he said.

Surveillance footage aired at the press conference showed the mobsters setting fire to public and private facilities, including the exits of the mass transit railway, bank branches and shops on the street. The rioters also damaged the traffic lights and hurled petrol bombs at police stations and police officers.

There were 28 burglaries, more than 80 cases of arson and 752 cases of criminal damage recorded since October 1, Cheuk said, adding that 400 traffic lights were damaged over the past four months.

“Such looting, rioting acts pose a great threat to public safety and we express the strongest condemnation,” Cheuk said. “The police strongly condemn all these lawless and reckless behaviors and no excuse can justify these acts of violence against our own community.”

Violent protesters threw more than 100 petrol bombs on Sunday, targeted civilians, police as well as public properties, police added.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Chan Derek Armstrong of the Fire Services Department condemned the rioters for setting fire at multiple locations. He said the consequences of arson were unpredictable and severely affected emergency services and resources allocation of the fire department.

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