Hong Kong protests: police officer says he prioritised dispersing radicals over clearing roadblocks to secure timely treatment of the injured
- Senior Inspector Wong Ka-lun tells court he felt his job was to disperse radicals first so paramedics could continue treating the injured person
- ‘Had I failed to clear the danger first, the firefighters and paramedics could have been assaulted,’ he says
A Hong Kong police officer told a court he had prioritised dispersing “violent” anti-government demonstrators over clearing roadblocks to secure the timely treatment of those injured inside a multistorey car park, where a university student suffered fatal injuries last year.
Senior Inspector Wong Ka-lun said when firefighters and paramedics were treating an unconscious Alex Chow Tsz-lok, who was believed to have fallen from one floor to another at the car park in Tseung Kwan O, he did not consider clearing the roadblocks set up by protesters outside the building first to ensure the 22-year-old could receive prompt medical attention in hospital.
Wong said he and his team were tasked with conducting a sweep inside the car park, where black-clad radicals had earlier hurled glass bottles and traffic cones at officers.
He claimed he feared the protesters would turn to assault those who were treating Chow. He also believed he could ensure Chow’s efficient treatment by eliminating the “threat” on the upper floors of the building.
On the third day of a 25-day inquest at the Coroner’s Court, lawyers representing Chow’s family questioned the rationale behind police’s decisions to fire tear gas rounds inside the car park and pay no heed to the injured student during a subsequent clearance operation in the early hours of November 4, 2019.