Hong Kong police target Occupy's 'principal instigators' after all sites cleared
Commissioner Andy Tsang says he hopes probe can be completed within three months
Hours after the last Occupy site in Causeway Bay was cleared yesterday, Police Commissioner Andy Tsang Wai-hung announced that the force would arrest the "principal instigators" and aim to finish its investigations within three months.
Police revealed that close to 1,000 people had been arrested since Occupy began, while over 900 had had their identity card numbers recorded as of yesterday. This came as Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying declared the end of the protests.
Leung said that seeking democracy at the expense of rule of law was not real democracy, adding: "With the completion of the clearance in Causeway Bay, the occupation that has lasted for more than two months in Hong Kong is over."
Watch: Hong Kong police clear last major Occupy protest site; 17 arrested
Chairing his first media briefing since Occupy began, Tsang, alongside four other top-level officers, said the police would devote extra resources for investigations involving the "principal instigators" of Occupy Central.