Spokesman says they called police immediately
The government yesterday defended leisure officers' handling of a noise complaint at Tuen Mun Park on Sunday, where an elderly onlooker died from a fall during scuffles among a crowd.
The 72-year-old man died after tripping on tree roots during a clash between Leisure and Cultural Services Department officers and a crowd of about 100 people.
The row began when the officers went to the park to investigate a noise complaint against street musicians performing Chinese folk songs.
The park attracts elderly musicians at weekends and often draws large crowds, but there have been repeated noise complaints from nearby residents about performers using amplifiers and loudspeakers.
A witness said park officers were told about the man's fall but had ignored the incident. However, the department stressed yesterday the officers immediately alerted police after learning of the man's fall.
'We were informed that an elderly man had collapsed nearby, and our colleagues immediately alerted police and asked for an ambulance. We also dispatched a security guard to the scene to look after the elderly man,' said Margrit Li Lai-fan, the LCSD's chief leisure manager for New Territories West.