My Take | Former Canto-pop star sings old tune on Hong Kong police and Occupy Central

One-time Canto-pop star Anthony Wong Yiu-ming has a knack for jumping on the bandwagon. He started campaigning for gay rights when it became safe and even fashionable to do so. Now when young people are rounding on the police for their alleged brutality, he has formed a group called Hong Kong Shield to join the chorus.

In a letter to the Post this week, he just about repeated every allegation, slander and rumour ever levelled against the police. When the likes of Wong and Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's Apple Daily repeat and recycle the same lies and exaggerations often enough, somehow they become facts in the uncritical minds of many people.

Wong said that the fine reputation of the police had been undone on September 28 by the firing of tear gas; they had colluded with or at least condoned triad and anti-Occupy Central efforts to stir up trouble within the Occupy movement; they had repeatedly used excessive force against peaceful protesters; and their use of tear gas, pepper spray and batons was unjustified, possibly illegal and against international standards.

I agree the use of tear gas has been a public relations disaster for the police. But that's mostly because Hong Kong has been a peaceful place so the use of tear gas was rare and shocking. It is, however, regularly used overseas, including in mature democracies to avoid the use of deadly force. Moreover, after much criticism, the city's police have effectively banned its use. There are few police forces in the world that would self-impose such a moratorium.

Frontline officers have been remarkably restrained, sometimes unjustifiably so, towards everyone - Occupy and anti-Occupy protesters and troublemakers such as suspected triads.

The fault lies primarily with the government, whose "no compromise and no violence" policy effectively forces the police to stand guard like babysitters.