Hong Kong police probe possible riot link after arresting four in flat with haul of weapons, but volunteer group says it’s a misunderstanding
Cache included 18 knives, wooden batons and metal rods, but Facebook group says these are unwanted items they collect to give to needy
There has been a new twist in a police probe into four suspects possibly linked to the Mong Kok riots.
On Thursday, officers arrested three people in a flat in an industrial building in Kwai Chung and seized pepper solution, knives, walkie-talkies and surgical masks. Later, at around 10pm, police arrested another man in Tuen Mun.
But a group of volunteers is claiming that there has been a misunderstanding, and the items recovered were unwanted objects they had collected to distribute to the needy.
READ MORE: 37 alleged rioters banned from Mong Kok after appearing in court over Hong Kong Lunar New Year violence
The four arrested – a 34-year-old architectural draftsman, an unemployed woman, 46, and a 47-year-old woman who sold organic food, and a 27-year-old man – were still in detention on Thursday night on suspicion of possessing offensive weapons with intent.
Superintendent Chow Kwong-chung, of New Territories South Regional headquarters, said officers were looking into whether they had taken part in the riot, which left more than 100 people injured.
He said the Thursday morning raid on the 1,000 sq ft unit in the Vigor Industrial Building on Ta Chuen Ping Street was launched after a tip-off.
Officers recovered 18 knives, wooden batons, metal rods, water pipes, 750 surgical masks and 24 pairs of work gloves. Bottles of liquid and crystallised chemicals of unknown composition were also recovered, along with a transparent liquid containing red peppers.
