Rampaging mobs stage an arson spree in Hong Kong setting mainland Chinese-linked shops and metro stations ablaze and hurling petrol bombs at police
- Illegal march began peacefully in Tsim Sha Tsui but the calm did not last as marauding protesters blocked roads, throwing bricks and petrol bombs
- Mainland Chinese shops, including Xiaomi store, set alight while police water cannon sprays blue dye on the front of Kowloon Mosque
Hong Kong protesters went on a rampage on Sunday hurling petrol bombs and setting ablaze multiple stores along Kowloon’s main thoroughfare, as police fired tear gas and water cannons which sprayed the entrance of the city’s biggest mosque with blue dye, fuelling tensions in the area.
The arson attacks began from around 3pm and lasted for more than eight hours as protesters set fires inside mainland-linked businesses and police and metro stations, before gutting a Xiaomi shop and Chinese medicine store Tong Ren Tang in Mong Kok.
As the city marked the 20th weekend of violent protests, demonstrators kicked off an illegal march in Tsim Sha Tsui peacefully but the initial calm dissipated in less than two hours as marauding protesters began blocking roads and throwing bricks and petrol bombs.
While protesters steered clear of the place of worship, the mosque’s gates ended up being soaked in blue solution by the police’s water cannon, which was spotted going up and down Nathan Road several times firing randomly at no one in particular or at groups of bystanders and journalists.
“I don’t understand why dye was sprayed on the religious building as there were not many people around,” said Mohammed Sadeque, 34, who came from Kolkata to settle in the city 12 years ago. But he appreciated fellow Hongkongers who helped to clean up the coloured mess afterwards.