Two Hong Kong Baptist University security guards suspended over incident in which police arrested five students
- Four of the arrests involved the new anti-mask law, with students now demanding dismissal of guards who let police in
- Security company agrees action by staff was insufficient, but says they will go through a ‘fair appeal mechanism’
Two Hong Kong Baptist University’s security guards who were accused of turning a blind eye to riot police entering the campus without permission have been suspended, according to the varsity management.
But in a heated exchange with more than 200 students on Tuesday, a management representative refused to accede to their demand to lay off the two guards immediately, insisting they deserved a chance to appeal in a review hearing.
In a video circulated online, several riot police officers were seen setting foot on a garden area at the Kowloon Tong campus, which is under the management of the university.
The officers walked into the school area and argued with students, who stood on the opposite side of a pedestrian walkway and witnessed five of their peers being arrested.
Union president Keith Fong Chung-yin said the five students were arrested for unlawful assembly on that day outside the campus. Four of them allegedly broke the face mask prohibition, which is punishable by a fine of up to HK$25,000 (US$3,187) or one-year imprisonment. All five arrested students have been released on police bail.
“We want to … confirm the two security guards will receive necessary punishment and have [the security company] promise to bar police from entering the school premises without a warrant.”
Fong said the way security staff handled the incident had added to students’ concern that the university was no longer a safe place.
Hong Kong school week kicks off with citywide student protests against anti-mask law
After the arrests, Baptist University vice-president Andy Lee Shiu-chuen appealed to students in a mass email to stay away from danger amid the worsening situation in Hong Kong.
On Tuesday, the protesting students, many of them masked, made their way to the lift lobby of the university’s administrative headquarters, as they chanted “disband the security force, delay no more”, among other slogans.
An operating head of City Security Company, which is in charge of the university’s security, told students at the lift lobby that the two employees in question had been served with a warning letter and would stop working there in future.
“We agree the response made by our colleagues was insufficient. After seeing police officers in riot gear, they were hoping to report the matter to their seniors for instructions,” the company’s representative told the students.
While the students demanded that the pair be dismissed, the representative said the two employees would undergo “a fair appeal mechanism” before the company took further action.
He promised that the company would update school leaders on the investigation progress by Thursday.
Dozens of students who remained dissatisfied went on to besiege a security control room, as they accused the management company of paying no heed to their demands.
Hong Kong Baptist University students continue with protests alleging management indifference over arrest of fellow pupils
They proceeded to an estate office later, only to learn that the person in charge was off duty.
Fong then called off the demonstration, but warned of “major operations” in future if the school did not respond to their demands.
A Baptist University spokeswoman reiterated that the campus fell under the institution’s control, and police officers could enter only if they were duly authorised and with strong justifications.
