Angry Hong Kong police criticise ‘feeble’ senior management over Mong Kok riot arrangements
Frontline officers claim morale is at record low after more than 90 from their ranks were wounded
Frontline police officers struck by bricks, glass bottles and wooden boards during Monday’s riot in Mong Kok told the Post they were deeply disappointed with their senior management as they slammed arrangements that left more than 90 officers wounded.
A source close to the matter said an emergency meeting was called as the senior management felt there was an immediate need to make amends following media coverage in the past two days that made them realise how angry frontline officers were.
READ MORE: Hong Kong courtroom packed as 37 face rioting charges and are banned from entering parts of Mong Kok
That sentiment was also said to be aggravated after Police Commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung spoke to the press on Tuesday, the source added.
Junior police union chairman Joe Chan Cho-kwong told reporters after the meeting that he conveyed the frontline officers’ concerns over Monday night’s operation, the available gear and present morale to the management. But he stopped short of revealing details of their demands and recommendations, citing an ongoing operation.
“We have sufficient gear,” Chan said as he sidestepped questions on whether the deployment of gear was problematic when helmet-less officers worked on the frontline.
Instead, he appealed to lawmakers to back the use of “new model weapons and gears”, including water cannons, to maintain the city’s public order.