Hong Kong police launch probe into booing of China’s national anthem at shopping mall as crowd watched fencer Edgar Cheung strike Olympic gold
- Hundreds had gathered on different levels of APM mall in Kwun Tong on Monday night to watch Cheung in foil final
- As Cheung, 24, stood on winners’ podium and national anthem was played, some people in crowd started booing and jeering, online clips show
It was the city’s second-ever Olympic gold and came 25 years after windsurfer Lee Lai-shan claimed a historic win at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
As Cheung, 24, stood on the winners’ podium and the national anthem March of the Volunteers was played, some people in the crowd started booing and jeering, online clips showed.
Many more shouted “We are Hong Kong” immediately after the booing stopped, while others clapped. One person could be seen waving the British colonial flag.
Police sources on Thursday confirmed that an investigation had been launched and that detectives from the Kowloon East regional headquarters were collecting evidence including footage from security cameras at the shopping centre.
A spokeswoman with Sun Hung Kai Properties, which owns the mall, said: “The management office of APM will fully cooperate with the police investigation.”