Battles and brawls in Hong Kong’s commercial heart as peaceful protest turns ugly
- Masked mobs set fire to a railway station exit and beat man unconscious after marchers defy police ban to press the government to answer their demands
- At least eight wounded, three seriously, in a day of petrol bombs, water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas
What started as an illegal but peaceful march descended into chaos and violence on Sunday as radical protesters battled riot police in the commercial heart of Hong Kong.
Masked mobs hurled petrol bombs at police, set the exit of one railway station ablaze and vandalised the facilities of another station. Riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets in return and called in water cannons to disperse the crowds.
Throughout the evening, the two sides clashed in Admiralty, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay in some of the world’s busiest and most expensive commercial streets. Most of the shops and malls in the areas closed early in anticipation of trouble as the city entered its 15th weekend in a row of social unrest.
The lawlessness escalated into confrontations in Fortress Hill and North Point, with some white-clad people clashing with protesters dressed in black. Police tried to separate the two groups and took some away, but the brawling continued.
Some journalists, including two Post reporters, were also attacked by the men in white. Throughout the night, the two rival camps brawled with each other in North Point streets, leaving several people bleeding and wounded.