Hong Kong protests: teen admits carrying firebombs, taking part in illegal assembly on night of Prince Edward MTR chaos
- The boy was among a group of protesters at Nathan Road and Nelson Street in Mong Kok before going to Prince Edward MTR on August 31, 2019
- The station’s platform became a scene of chaos that night as police stormed the facility in pursuit of protesters
An underage boy has admitted carrying two firebombs into Prince Edward MTR station on August 31, 2019, the same night its platform became a scene of chaos as police stormed the concourse in pursuit of anti-government protesters.
The boy, who cannot be identified because he was only 13 years old at the time of the offence, also admitted taking part in an unlawful assembly at the junction of Nathan Road and Nelson Street in Mong Kok earlier that night.
The procession later took a turn for the violent, and spilled over to Kowloon, spreading into Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok.
At about 10pm, around 100 protesters had gathered at the junction of Nathan Road and Nelson Street, most of them wearing masks and black attire, with some armed with walking sticks, umbrellas and batons.
The boy was caught on camera moving items such as bricks and styrofoam containers into the street to set up a roadblock, preventing vehicles from passing and hurling a plastic box at a double-decker bus to stop it from moving forward.
Public prosecutor Jennifer Tsui Sin-chi said police began dispersing the crowd at about 10.32pm, and protesters, including the boy, rushed into Mong Kok MTR station, damaging facilities as they went.