Baptist University raises concerns over student reporter arrested for allegedly carrying a knife while covering Hong Kong unrest

Third-year journalism student was arrested for carrying a table knife, which he said was for cutting mooncakes

Vice chancellor Roland Chin urges police ‘to ensure the case is handled properly and fairly’, while student march demands university leadership condemns the force

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Roland Chin wrote that the university was ‘deeply concerned’ about the student’s arrest. Photo: Edward Wong

Published: 1:04pm, 16 Sep 2019Updated: 3:57pm, 17 Sep 2019

The leader of a Hong Kong university raised concerns on Monday over the arrest of a student reporter for allegedly carrying a knife while covering protests the previous night.

The arrest prompted more than 200 students at Baptist University to march on campus on Monday afternoon, with some of them storming the office building where the president works.

They confronted school management over what they saw as the provost’s failure to condemn police for what they saw as an unlawful arrest.

Student organisation Broadcast News Network uploaded this photo to its official Facebook page, saying it showed table knives with rounded ends that were similar to the one found on the arrested student. Photo: Facebook

The student was arrested while reporting for the news organisation under the school’s journalism department, the university’s president and vice chancellor Roland Chin Tai-hong wrote in an emailed statement.

“The university is deeply concerned,” Chin wrote. “We have been in touch with the police and have urged them to ensure that the case is handled properly and fairly.”

The arrested student, named as Boaz So by The Young Reporter, one of the university’s journalism school’s publications, was released on HK$500 (US$64) bail on Monday night.