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Mong Kok riot
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Junius Ho says police were too restrained when handling the Mong Kong rioters. Photo: Edward Wong

“It would not be killing Hongkongers. It would be killing rioters ...” Hong Kong police should have shot rioters if necessary, says outspoken lawyer

Officers must do whatever is necessary to maintain public order, claims Junius Ho

Police should have used tear gas and if necessary shot protesters during the Mong Kok riot, says outspoken lawyer and district councillor Junius Ho Kwan-yiu.

Speaking on RTHK’s televised City Forum debate on the incident, Ho said law enforcement officers were “too restrained” when faced with street mobs.

“Police used shotguns [during the 1967 riot] ... To maintain public order and for self-protection, [police officers] have to take any necessary actions” Ho said.

It would not be killing Hongkongers. It would be killing rioters
Junius Ho

When asked by another participant of the debate, Oscar Lai Man-lok of student group Scholarism, whether Ho believed police would have been justified in killing city residents, Ho replied: “It would not be killing Hongkongers. It would be killing rioters.”

Ho, a controversial figure, also said it was necessary to implement Article 23 anti-subversion laws in the city.

On the opposing end of the debate, Baggio Leung Chung-hang, convenor of post-Occupy group Youngspiration, blamed police mishandling of the situation for causing the violence.

Lai pointed the finger at the Hong Kong government’s refusal to listen to residents and to resolve an array of livelihood issues as the source of the unrest.

The overnight clashes in Mong Kok led to more than 100 casualties, five of them media personnel, being taken to hospital.

READ MORE: Hong Kong journalist claims police attacked him while he reported on Mong Kok riot

A journalist from Chinese language newspaper Ming Pao , surnamed Tang, claimed he was attacked by officers despite complying with their orders and showing his press card.

On Friday, Police Commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung said in a letter the case was listed as a “complaint” and was being handled by the Complaints Against Police Office. But he made no mention of a criminal investigation.

Lo was responding to an open letter by the Ming Pao Staff Association demanding a criminal investigation into why the journalist was assaulted.

During the clashes in Mong Kok, a number of journalists were attacked by protesters unhappy about being filmed.

On Sunday an article entitled “Our fists will treat you the same way your lenses treat us” went viral on social media, demanding journalists protect the identity of members of the public while reporting.

“Journalists do not have a right to publish photos. Therefore they should not film anything that could affect the daily lives of non-public figures,” it said.

Sixty-five people have so far been arrested in relation to the incident, one of the worst outbreaks of public disorder since rioting in the 1960s.

Since Thursday, 40 people have been charged with rioting while another person is accused of unlawful assembly.

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