Police must be held accountable for abuses during protest clearance

The students have admitted that their latest attempt to escalate the protests at Admiralty was a failure. It ended in the most serious confrontation with the police since September 28, when 87 tear gas canisters were launched at the crowds.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying spared no time in scoring some political points. He said the police had been tolerant over the past two months and warned the activists not to take the police forbearance as a sign of weakness.

"If this can be tolerated, what cannot be?" he said, citing a Chinese idiom.

Leung was quoting one part of The Analects, in which Confucius admonished the Ji clan for presenting eight rows of dancers in a ceremonial dance, which was the prerogative of the emperor according to the social and political hierarchy of the day.

Leung's choice of metaphor reflects his paternalistic mentality. In his eyes, the umbrella movement boils down to a disrespectful challenge of the authorities.

The way he has condoned the police's excessive use of force to restore order is staggering.

Anyone who bothers to look at the videos and messages on social media will find that some police officers had behaved improperly in dealing with the Occupy protesters.

First of all, the police were selective in their enforcement of the law. They used double standards in dealing with protesters and triad gangsters in the occupied sites. On October 2 and 3, in particular, the police allowed triad ringleaders to intimidate protesters.

In addition, officers have beaten up protesters already subdued and under arrest. Such abuse of power may well amount to a criminal offence. The two cases captured on video - one of which involved seven officers who have now been arrested - are likely to only be the tip of the iceberg.

Student leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung, for one, claimed he was assaulted by police when he was arrested late last month. His lawyer told CNN he was kicked and punched and "effectively sexually assaulted".

If this were true, and this indeed happened to an icon of the democracy campaign, imagine how the average protester would have been treated. The police owe the public an explanation of what happened.

There have also been several allegations of police officers provoking members of the public, including with racial and sexual taunts.

In one video, a group of officers was seen taunting protesters who had retreated to an MTR entrance at Admiralty. One officer was seen flashing the middle finger while the others called the young protesters "rubbish". This was a clear violation of the police code of conduct.

Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, who is known to have a mentally disabled daughter, said he was verbally abused by police while observing the situation in Mong Kok. "I nodded to an officer, but he said, 'Don't you nod to me. Go home and take care of your daughter, she's sick'," Cheung said.

This was clearly a breach of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance.

The police even allegedly targeted medical volunteers - some claimed they were roughed up by officers while attending to the injured in Admiralty.

In a way, the police are themselves a victim of the circumstances. They are trapped in an unenviable, prolonged state of hypertension.

Instead of coming up with a political solution to the Occupy protests, Leung has exploited the police force as an instrument for bolstering his unpopular rule. No wonder Leung has turned a blind eye to the misbehaviour and illegal acts of individual law enforcers.

The Independent Police Complaints Council has been flooded with over 1,700 Occupy-related complaints. The council, however, is dominated by members who are supporters of Leung and has little credibility. It remains to be seen how long it will take to handle these files.

Meanwhile, new pieces of evidence of police abuse emerge almost every day.

Frustrated by the government's inaction, Scholarism has mounted an online petition to urge the United Nations Human Rights Council to launch an inquiry into "Hong Kong police and government human rights abuses". The students initially set their target at 25,000 signatures. Over 85,000 have signed so far.

The UN petition is, of course, a long shot. Allegations against the police are so numerous and serious that it warrants an independent investigation, led by a judge.

It has nothing to do with the political struggle between the yellow-ribbon and blue-ribbon camps. This issue is more fundamental. We need to stop Hong Kong from degenerating into a police state before it is too late.

Albert Cheng King-hon is a political commentator. [email protected]