http://m.wsj.com/articles/footage-of-beating-prompts-hong-kong-police-to-launch-investigation-1413343131?mobile=y
Pro-democracy Legislators Calls for Probe After Video Showing a Man Being Kicked Repeatedly
Hong Kong broadcaster TVB footage shows police allegedly assaulting Ken Tsang, a member of a pro-democracy political party, in the early hours of October 15, 2014. (Photo: TVB)
HONG KONG—Televised footage of police officers allegedly beating a protester early Wednesday morning prompted outrage in Hong Kong, with pro-democracy legislators calling for a full investigation into the highest levels of the police department.
The video was shot in the early morning hours and shows half a dozen police officers hauling a person in plastic handcuffs around a dark corner and then taking turns kicking him repeatedly while he was on the ground. It was captured in a dark, 51-second video that clearly showed the word “police” on the shirts of the people carrying and beating the protester.
Civic Party member Ken Tsang is taken away by police early Oct. 15, 2014. Mr. Tsang's lawyer said his client had been beaten by police. PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
“This is a Hong Kong we don’t recognize anymore,” said Lee Cheuk-yan, a Hong Kong legislator, at a news conference, referring to front-line police as “black cops.”
The video could become a public-relations disaster for police, who have been trying to reopen roads blocked by protesters since Sept. 28.
The government and police have been hoping that public opinion would turn against the protesters as the occupation nears the three-week mark, but the video could renew sympathy for the demonstrators.
The department has already been criticized for using tear gas and pepper spray when the protests began, drawing much larger crowds which quickly occupied the three sites in the city they still hold. And they were blamed for failing to prevent men who descended on Mong Kok, one of the three protest sites, from assaulting protesters. Critics have said that the police deliberately allowed thugs or people with links to organized crime to try to clear out the protest site. Police have said they did what they could to stop the scuffling.
The person in the video, which was televised by local broadcaster TVB, has been identified as Ken Tsang, a social worker and member of the Civic Party one of the largest pro-democracy political parties in Hong Kong.
The incident took place after protesters seized a road tunnel just outside the office of the city’s chief executive Tuesday evening, prompting police to take action in the middle of the night to clear protesters from the area, including the use of pepper spray.
At a news conference on Wednesday morning, a group of pro-democracy legislators called for an investigation into whether the actions of the police officers who beat up Mr. Tsang was condoned by high-ranking police officers.
Dennis Kwok, who is also a member of the Civic Party and a lawyer representing Mr. Tsang, said “the marks on his body show some sort of tools or weapons were used. Now he is in hospital and he has to do a full body scan to see if he has any internal injuries, especially on his back.” Mr. Kwok said Mr. Tsang was arrested for suspected unlawful assembly and beaten again in the police station.
Hong Kong security chief Lai Tung-kwok said the six policemen who allegedly beat up Mr. Tsang have been “reassigned”, but reiterated that police showed restraint and that the incident will be investigated fairly. In a statement, police said they “express concern over the video clip” and “have already taken immediate actions and will conduct [an] investigation impartially.”
A person with knowledge of the matter said that the police’s strategy continues to be one of taking back unmanned territory and using minimum force. The person added that the area outside Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying ’s office remains a flashpoint and said police had permission to use pepper spray, but not tear gas.
“Is this still a Hong Kong with rule of law? If there is no rule of law, what else is there to sustain our future economic and societal development?” said Coco Cheng, 20, a student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, in response to the police beating video.
The confrontation Tuesday night put police back on their heels after they had successfully reopened a main thoroughfare in the city early in the day. Protesters gathered in a road tunnel near the government headquarters and quickly surrounded a group of police who were forced to retreat as protesters jeers and some poured liquid on the officers from the roadway above. Protesters built barricades in the tunnel, stacking concrete blocks they pulled from storm sewers.
Police came back hours later with a much larger force and retook the tunnel, using pepper spray and arresting 45 people. It was during that exercise that the video was shot.
TVB is one of Hong Kong’s largest independent broadcasters, and has been criticized for toeing a pro-government stance.
—Jacky Wong and Fiona Law contributed to this article.
