High Court denies injunction sought by Chinese University student leader to bar Hong Kong police from campus after days of clashes with protesters
- Jacky So files for temporary injunction after CUHK was the site of clashes between protesters and riot police that led to 119 people being injured
- But court dismisses bid, with lawyer arguing that criminals could hide on campus if police did not have a warrant to enter
A Hong Kong court has dismissed an urgent injunction application by a Chinese University student leader to bar unauthorised police from campus after the school became a battleground for anti-government protesters and the authorities.
Jacky So Tsun-fung, the CUHK student union president, filed an application on Wednesday for the temporary injunction to the High Court after his school was the site of a tense stand-off between protesters and riot police that started on Monday and led to 119 people being injured.
The court heard that protesters stalled public transport for two days by throwing objects from a No. 2 Bridge above a highway and the MTR East Rail line. Riot police arriving at the bridge were brought to a standstill by protesters who hurled petrol bombs at the officers.
Parties agreed that the bridge was a public space maintained by CUHK according to a government lease. It was disputed, however, whether areas beyond the bridge were also public areas that police could freely access.
An interim injunction order will become a significant hindrance against law enforcement
In the ruling handed down after an urgent hearing on Wednesday evening, Mr Justice Wilson Chan Ka-shun said the applicant had failed to establish a serious issue to be tried.