Hong Kong police arrest 206 people for violent incidents in past week

The Hong Kong police have arrested 206 people involved in violent incidents over the past week, the police said on Monday.

The Hong Kong Police Headquarters. [File photo: IC]

Kong Wing-cheung, senior superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch, told a press conference that 148 males and 58 females were arrested for offenses including illegal assembly, arson, possession of offensive weapons, bodily harm and criminal damage.

Several thousands people illegally assembled, blocked roads, and even attacked police officers in Tsim Sha Tsui on Sunday, said Tse Chun-chung, chief superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch, adding that the rioters vandalised banks and set fires in the Yau Tsim Mong district.

Some rioters even hurled petrol bombs, iron bars, and bricks at police officers and attacked them with hard objects and umbrellas. Seven police officers were injured during the operations, with one sustaining a rib fracture, according to the police.

The mobs also repeatedly attacked bystanders with Sunday seeing at least three cases of rioters beating innocent people, the police said.

The police also said when rioters committed crimes, they often opened their umbrellas to cover up their illegal activities, which just exposed their self-knowledge of wrongdoing.

Police officers wore helmets and masks to protect against the violence of the rioters, as well as from malicious cyber manhunt, the police said, adding that so far, personal information of more than 2,600 police officers and their families has been posted online.

The press conference was suspended for about half an hour as a woman interrupted speakers and pointed glare flashlight at the podium.