Hong Kong protests: student leaders say they were victims of death threats for supporting demonstrators
- One student representative was told his family would be killed if he continued to help protesters, others had private data leaked
- Union president arrested on suspicion of possessing offensive weapons says laser pens were to be used ‘for stargazing’ and as teaching aids
Student leaders have revealed they received death threats and had their personal information exposed after helping their peers protest against the Hong Kong government.
Threats were directed at three student union representatives, it was disclosed at a press conference on Friday, with the culprits vowing to kill family members of one victim, and also publicly displaying posters detailing their private data.
Leung Siu-yuk, external vice-president of Baptist University’s student union, fought back tears when she talked about how she and her family had been targeted.
Leung said she had received a sinister message from a stranger on Facebook on Wednesday asking her to think twice before supporting further protests, after unions had offered legal and financial assistance to those requiring it.
“If you do not understand this, I can look for [the names of her parents and sister] to have a chat,” a Facebook user named Luck Lee wrote.