Au Yiu-kai (inset), medical head of the Occupy movement, said protesters on Sunday suffered “the most severe injuries” in these two months. Photo: HKEJ
Police accused of using excesssive force on protesters
Police officers have been accused of using excessive force on pro-democracy protesters during the clearance operations in Admiralty on Sunday and Monday, RTHK reported, citing medical helpers in the protest sites.
Dr. Au Yiu-kai, medical head of the Occupy movement, said protesters on Sunday suffered “the most severe injuries” since the civil disobedience campaign kicked off two months ago.
Many protesters reported swelling of the eyes and painful burning of the skin as a result of the pepper spray and tear gas fired at them, while some suffered bruises after being beaten up with batons, Au told Commercial Radio in an interview.
“The police were acting so violently last night, and they even chased our medical staff,” he said.
Au said a police officer tried to stop him from treating a bleeding protester as the officer wanted to take the protester away.
Police used pepper spray on the protesters at point blank range, while some even used the canisters to hit the protesters in the face, according to video footages of the clearance operations on Long Wu Road broadcast by Cable TV News.
At around 8am Monday, police were able to force the protesters back to their original protest site on Harcourt Road. However, tensions remained tight as police were seen provoking protesters by clapping and laughing at them from the bridge above the street.
Speaking to reporters about the operations, Police Superintendent Tsui Wai-hung said: “Police acted with extreme restraint last night despite long hours of operation. We would like to gain acknowledgement from citizens.”
Asked when police would clear the protest site on Harcourt Road, Tsui said the court was expected to issue an injunction on Tuesday and “police will respect the court’s decision”.
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