Hong Kong police cleared of rumor in man’s fall from shopping mall

By Yang Sheng Source:Global Times Published: 2019/12/25 21:58:42

Rioters set fire in Mong Kok on Sunday. Photo: GT

An incident of a rioter falling from a shopping mall on Tuesday night, Christmas Eve, strained the Hong Kong situation, as some protesters spread rumors and smeared the city's police who they claimed "pushed a protester to fall" while ignoring the video that clearly showed what actually happened.

A video from a Hong Kong local source shows a man pushed a police officer before sprinting across the second floor of Yoho Mall II, in Yuen Long of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in an effort to escape the scene. The man then leapt over the glass barrier on the second floor and fell onto the ground below, with no police officer ever touching him.

But some protesters spread rumors and stated claimed they "saw" the police push the man to his fall, trying to instigate public hatred against the police. They also referred to the man as a "resident" without mentioning his activities.  



The Hong Kong Police Force said in an email sent to the Global Times on Wednesday that the man surnamed Chou, 19, had his arm injured and is being treated in a hospital. He was arrested for attacking police. 

UK media Daily Mail also reported the incident with an edited video clip. A section that shows Chou running close to and leaping over the barrier was omitted.

Hong Kong police told the Global Times that they entered the mall for an operation after receiving a report at around 8 pm that certain rioters were storming into stores and vandalizing them. When police officers were about to intercept and investigate two men at the second floor, one of them, Chou, suddenly ran away and pushed an officer who tried to stop him. 

A police officer also sustained injuries to his arm in the incident.

The Yoho Mall II was the site that rioters had called for an assembly on Christmas Eve, according to their posters circulating on social media. 

Around 10:45 pm on Tuesday, some masked rioters set fire to the entrance of Mong Kok MTR station. Some of them poured flammable liquids to fan the flames. The same night some rioters blocked the roads around Argyle Street and Portland Street in Mong Kok, the Hong Kong police said on Twitter.



Posted in: HK/MACAO/TAIWAN

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