Altercations reported as tempers flare amid the crowds

Public altercations between Occupy Central protesters and their opponents were reported yesterday, hours after a car narrowly missed a crowd of demonstrators in Mong Kok.

Protesters scrambled out of the way just seconds before a grey Mercedes-Benz, driven by Cheung Wai-ming, 59, sped through a section of Argyle Street near the junction with Nathan Road at about 2am.

Thousands had been staging an overnight sit-in at the site, a spillover from the Occupy Central protest.

Police said there were no reports of injuries. The driver was arrested in Kowloon City for suspected dangerous driving and later released on bail.

One witness said he would have been seriously injured or could even have lost a leg if he had not got out of the car's way at the last second.

The driver said he had done nothing wrong.

"I didn't break any law. I was only exercising my citizen's right to use the road," he told Cable TV.

"I didn't see anything at all. All I remember is that I would not have hit any people or objects. I used the road safely," the driver said, raising his right thumb.

The car is registered to a property in Kowloon City. The unit, according to the Land Registry, is held by Heung Chin, Cheung Chung-kang and Ngai Siu-ki in trust for the Yee On Commercial and Industrial Union.

Police senior inspector Wong Siu-leung, from the Kowloon West accident investigation unit, said the suspect's driving manner was "problematic".

"He sounded his horn and, despite slowing down, was too close to the crowd," he said.

The driver, who was on his way to a friend's home, passed a breathalyser test. The incident sparked anger and panic among protesters. Some screamed as the car came close while others chased after the vehicle trying to catch the driver or rushed to reinforce the road block.

Hours later, an assault was reported in the Mong Kok protest zone. An elderly man kicked 17-year-old protester Leung Ho-fai in his legs at about 1.30pm after a two-hour dispute over whether he should be allowed to take to the stage to make a complaint about their protest.

The man became emotional and he and another elderly man complained to the organisers.

"Someone in the crowd threw a banana peel at his face. I think he kicked me because he wanted to vent his anger," Leung said.

In front of the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay, a man pelted protesters with rotten eggs yesterday afternoon, yelling at them to "go back to class and stop blocking roads".