Pro-democracy activists and lawmakers in Hong Kong have accused the police of standing by as men dressed in white attacked commuters late on Sunday, leaving dozens hospitalised and one critically injured.
Video footage from Hong Kong media showed a group of about a dozen men, some with black masks, storming a subway station and indiscriminately beating passengers with wooden bats. Among those hurt in the attack at Yuen Long were demonstrators returning from a large anti-government rally, as well as a pregnant woman and a woman holding an infant, according to witnesses.
Galileo Cheng (@galileocheng)Ambulance was not enough for so many injured. I did saw the pregnant women who fainted but at once she nearly got assualted again. There was woman holding infant got assaulted too. Weirdest thing is the "leader" of triad tried to help! #antiELAB #ExtraditionBill #HongKongProtest
July 21, 2019
The footage emerged after an anti-government march by hundreds of thousands of people on Sunday that descended into chaos as police and protesters fought running battles, with riot police firing teargas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters.
A woman sobbed while recounting what happened during the Yuen Long attack, telling one witness in audio circulated online: “They beat people in the carriage indiscriminately whoever they were, even people who were returning home from work … Some men were shielding us. They didn’t fight back otherwise we would have been beaten even worse. They beat even women and children.”
Video filmed inside the train showed passengers screaming and crying as they attempted to shield themselves with umbrellas as several men wielding wooden rods attacked people in the carriage. Other footage showed commuters bleeding and blood stains on the station ground.
When police arrived at the station after 11pm, the assailants had left and angry protesters demanded to know why they had taken so long to get there. Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority said 45 people between the ages of 18 and 64, were injured in the attack, including one man who was in critical condition. Four men and one woman were in a serious condition.
On Monday morning, activists roundly criticised the police. A lawmaker from the opposition Democracy party said his party was investigating the potential involvement of organised crime.
“Is Hong Kong now allowing triads to do what they want, beating up people on the street with weapons?” Democratic party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, who was among the injured, asked reporters.
The pro-democracy lawmaker Ray Chan tweeted: “Hong Kong has 1 of the world’s highest cop to population ratio. Where were @hkpoliceforce?”
Ray Chan (@ray_slowbeat)Snippet of a live broadcast from lawmaker Lam Cheuk ting, showing self-professed pro-Gov't mobsters attacking passengers in train cars at #MTR #YuenLong Stn. #HongKong has 1 of the world's highest cop to population ratio. Where were @hkpoliceforce? Lam was injured as shown live. pic.twitter.com/Aq5JmJlf5u
July 21, 2019
The use of thugs for hire has been seen in previous protests as well as in mainland China where local authorities have been known to hire men to intimidate residents or petitioners.
The police, who entered a village near the station in Yuen Long where groups of men in white had gathered in the early hours of Monday, said they had seen no weapons.
“We have not made any arrests because we cannot be sure of those involved,” said Yau Nai-keung, assistant commander of Yuen Long district. “Even those dressed in white, that doesn’t mean they are involved. We will handle each case fairly, no matter their political camp.”
The Hong Kong government condemned the violence in a statement, confirming that “some people” had attacked commuters on the station platform and within train compartments. “It led to confrontations and injuries. The [government] strongly condemns any violence and will seriously take enforcement actions.”
