Hong Kong doctor sues police chief for HK$6.7 million over allegation tear gas canisters caused fire at home and medical practice
- Medical specialist alleges ‘misfiring of two tear gas submunitions’ caused blaze at two units in Tsim Sha Tsui on November 18, 2019
- Police fired 3,293 tear gas rounds during the day as part of operations against protesters at Polytechnic University, surrounding area
In a writ filed against the commissioner of police, Kenneth Leung Kam-chung said an officer’s “misfiring of two tear gas submunitions” had caused a blaze at two units on the first floor of Windsor Mansions in Tsim Sha Tsui on the morning of November 18, 2019.
“As a result of negligence of this policeman, the premises were severely and seriously damaged by the above-mentioned fire outbreak,” Leung’s lawyers wrote in the High Court claim.
The residential building mentioned in the case was located one block away from Polytechnic University in Hung Hom, which had become a major battleground between anti-government protesters and police during that week.
At the time, police had surrounded all exits of the protester-occupied university, with officers simultaneously facing off against demonstrators in surrounding districts who attempted to stop the campus siege.
Large quantities of tear gas were fired in the area by police, including in Hung Hom, Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan and Yau Ma Tei.
The force later revealed that officers had fired 3,293 rounds of tear gas during the operation on November 18, which was believed to be the highest number of canisters fired in a single day during the social unrest.
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Court documents made available on Wednesday cited a letter from the Fire Services Department on January 12 that stated the fire was caused by “heat generated by the tear gas submunitions [which] ignited the combustible inside the affected units”.
But the filing did not provide further details on the two units’ condition, except to include a claim for HK$6,721,161 as compensation for the “damages, losses and related expenditure”.
One of the two units was listed on the Medical Council’s specialist register as the address of Leung’s otorhinolaryngology practice, which treated ear, nose and throat conditions.
