Minors arrested during protests mostly victims exploited by others, Hong Kong’s deputy police chief says
- Operations commander Raymond Siu describes being deeply saddened by his talks with young people detained during the anti-government movement
- One of the youngsters held was aged just 11, while another 17-year-old was detained seven times
But among the people who did deserve blame were politicians who had “exploited” youths for their own gain, Raymond Siu Chak-yee said.
Siu described his time spent on the front lines of the protests that saw riot police, armed with tear gas, rubber bullets and beanbag rounds, face off against thousands of mostly young demonstrators, many carrying sharpened poles, bricks and petrol bombs. But the deputy police commissioner said he also spent hours back at the station talking to the arrested teens, trying to better understand their thinking and what drove them to take part. Siu was deeply troubled by what he heard.
“None of them could tell me what the protest’s demands were,” he said. “They just felt the need to participate and to fight after seeing online messages.
“This is actually very sad. A lot of them were being exploited by others to come out without realising the consequences. We indeed see them as victims. But they don’t think it matters. It is a horrifying fact. A few, more radical ones, think it is a revolution.”
