Update | Hong Kong police arrest 37 in second night of Christmas protests and clashes

In the largest police action against pro-democracy demonstrators since the Occupy Central protests ended nearly three weeks ago, Hong Kong police said they arrested a total of 37 people in Mong Kok in a second night of protests and clashes during the Christmas holidays.

Police said on Friday morning that the 37 protesters, including 26 men and 11 women aged between 13 and 76, were arrested for suspected offences such as "disorderly conduct in public place" and "criminal damage". 

The disturbances started at 9pm on Christmas night and spilled over into the early hours of Friday morning in the residential neighbourhoods in Mong Kok. Around 300 protesters engaged in a 5 hour-long stand-off with police, as hundreds of officers were deployed to contain what they call an “illegal occupation”. On several occasions, police raised yellow warning flags in an effort to quell the angry crowds.

The largest number of arrests -- of 20 men and 10 women -- were made in a case of suspected criminal damage in the stairwell of a private apartment block on Tung Choi Street following resident complaints. 

People living in the block complained that the crowd had entered the property illegally, and one resident complained that a metal gate had been damaged. Following the complaints, the police moved in and made the arrests.

Early on Friday morning, one male protester was arrested on Nathan Road for criminal damage after he pushed over rubbish bins, spilling trash onto the road in a bid to stall traffic. About 10 more people were pulled aside by police and detained briefly in relation to the episode.