Protests reignited by shocking images appearing to show unarmed man being beaten by officers
Protests reignite amid calls for calm as shocking images show unarmed Civic Party member being punched and kicked by plain-clothes officers
Democracy protests that have rocked Hong Kong for almost three weeks and that appeared to be dwindling have been reignited by television footage which appears to show a group of plain-clothes police officers carrying out a violent and sustained attack on an unarmed and restrained protester as he lies on the ground.
The footage - captured by a TVB film crew during the overnight police operation to clear a road near government headquarters - appears to show seven officers taking turns to kick and punch Civic Party member Ken Tsang Kin-chiu as he lies on the ground in a darkened recess.
The video, which is several minutes long, has sparked a storm of controversy with hundreds gathering outside government and police headquarters last night in protest.
Traffic on Lung Wo Road, the thoroughfare just outside the Chief Executive's Office, was blocked for several minutes around midnight before police drove the protesters away.
Watch: TVB's broadcast of police allegedly beating Civic Party member Ken Tsang
The video prompted the police complaints division to set up a special taskforce and sparked an outpouring of calls for calm and restraint from the city's richest tycoon, Li Ka-shing, senior politicians and religious groups.