NewMong Kok ‘on the verge of a riot’: police spokesman
Police said the situation in Mong Kok, where hundreds of protesters remain in the streets despite efforts to clear them, is “on the verge of a riot”.
"We are very worried about the situation in Mong Kok and consider the unlawful situation [there] to be moving towards a riot," police spokesman Steven Hui Chun-tak told reporters at a regular press conference.
When asked whether any deadline had been set to clear demonstrators from the protest site, Hui repeated that the area remains “very high-risk” and appealed for children and students to leave for their own safety.
"Apparently these people come prepared," Hui said, referencing "radical protesters and troublemakers" who he said made attempts to charge police cordon lines armed with umbrellas, plastic foam, helmets and goggles.
"They jeered and scolded our police officers, and incited others to charge the police cordon lines to create chaos.
"Although no major confrontation took place, a crisis could have broken out any moment in that situation."
Children were being used as “human shields” between Occupy protesters and police officers, Hui said, adding that such behaviour was “extremely selfish and reckless and totally unacceptable to the public”.