Hong Kong security chief John Lee praises police for railway station actions during night of protest mayhem
- Special Tactical Squad officers chased fleeing protesters onto a stationary train and used batons and pepper spray on them
- Police took into consideration the overall circumstances, evidence and intelligence they had gathered before taking action, Lee said
Hong Kong police on Monday gave their account of how they went after protesters who had committed illegal acts at Prince Edward MTR station over the weekend, as the city’s security chief mounted a robust defence of officers’ actions.
“They [police] remain Asia’s finest despite the danger and difficulties they face,” Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu said. “They discharge their statutory duties with courage and commitment.”
His resolute backing followed a public outcry over action taken by members of the Special Tactical Squad, known as Raptors.
Protesters and their supporters accused police of behaving like gangsters and indiscriminately beating commuters, but the force has adamantly maintained officers went after radicals who had changed their clothes after trashing the station and brawling with other passengers. Others accused police of allegedly going after innocent people in the wrong train.
Video clips widely circulated online at first only showed police rushing onto a train and using batons to beat two men and two women, some in masks, who were crying and cowering on the ground. Another officer pepper sprayed them as police left without making an arrest.
But as further footage has emerged, Lee called on the public not to pass judgment based on snapshots.