- Title: Police say 77 people arrested in Hong Kong for anti-mask law violations
- Date: 8th October 2019
- Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (OCTOBER 8, 2019) (REUTERS) POLICE OFFICIALS ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS WEARING GAS MASKS (SOUNDBITE) (English) POLICE REGIONAL COMMANDER OF NEW TERRITORIES NORTH, FRANK KWOW YAM-YUNG, SAYING: "Since the prohibition on face covering regulation came into effect on Saturday, as of this morning, we have arrested 77 people consisting of 50 males and 27 females aged between 12 and 41 years old, 74 people were arrested for using facial covering during an unlawful assembly, while the remaining three were arrested for failing to comply with the requirement to remove facial covering in a public place" JOURNALIST WEARING GAS MASK (SOUNDBITE) (English) POLICE REGIONAL COMMANDER OF NEW TERRITORIES NORTH, FRANK KWOW YAM-YUNG, SAYING: "In one open-fire incident in Yuen Long on Friday night, one CID officer was dragged out of his car, pushed to the ground and viciously beaten up by a masked mob with weapons. When his life was in grave danger, he fired a shot in an attempt to disperse the rioters. Despite the shot being fired, the rioters continued their savage attacks, hitting him with petrol bombs and even attempting to snatch his revolver which was dropped on the ground. These are murderous acts that no civilised society could or should tolerate." VARIOUS OF ITEMS CONFISCATED FROM PROTESTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) POLICE REGIONAL COMMANDER OF NEW TERRITORIES NORTH, FRANK KWOW YAM-YUNG, SAYING: "The violence has intensified with more dangerous weapons and tactics being used and the atrocities have extended to many different districts in Hong Kong, affecting the livelihoods of our law-abiding citizens. We are deeply concerned by the spreading of lawlessness in Hong Kong by rioters who subscribe to the idea that breaking the law to achieve their so-called democratic goals is a noble one. That cannot be true." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 22nd October 2019 12:00
- Keywords: Hong Kong police news conference protest
- Location: HONG KONG, CHINA
- City: HONG KONG, CHINA
- Country: Hong Kong
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001B08IZIF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hong Kong police said on Tuesday (October 8) 77 people had been arrested for violating an anti-mask law enacted at the weekend under sweeping emergency powers invoked by the city's leader to try to quell often violent anti-government street protests.
Since Friday (October 4), more than 200 shops and public utilities have been damaged in the "intensified" unrest and police have fired 367 tear gas rounds, a police spokesman told a news conference. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong over the weekend wearing face masks, despite Lam having banned masks under colonial-era emergency laws invoked on Friday.
Protesters have been using masks to shield their identities and to protect their faces from police tear gas.
On Tuesday, some local journalists sported gas masks to protest against the ban on face masks.
The rallies spiraled into some of the most violent clashes since protests started four months ago, forcing the unprecedented shut down of the city's metro after many stations were torched and scores of shops and China banks damaged.
(Production: Ronn Bautista, Joyce Zhou) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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