HK police admits tear gas use, CCTV
Hong Kong police have admitted that they had used
#teargas shells while dealing with protesters from the
#OccupyCentral movement on Sunday.
Addressing the press on Monday, Cheung Tak-keung, Hong Kong’s Assistant Commissioner of Police, said that they had no alternative but to use “minimum force” in order to prevent further conflicts with the protesters.
He said that the police had used tear gas and pepper spray on Sunday after some protesters used violence to breach the police lines.
According to a Xinhua report, the police had used 87 tear gas shells to scatter the crowds.
Cheung said the police have maintained restraint and upheld professionalism while enforcing the law.
He also added that the police respects the citizens’ right to use peaceful, rational and legal means to protest, but will have no tolerance for offenders.
Meanwhile, protests in the city continued on Monday, with an immediate impact being visible on the stock markets.
#HK’s benchmark
#HangSeng Index tumbled through the day, recovering marginally post lunch to close on Monday at 23229.21, down 449.20 points or 1.90%.
The property segment was the hardest hit, shedding 3.38%. Utilities and finance shares also performed badly, falling 2.03% and 1.92%, respectively.
Picture source: police.gov.hk
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Professionalism right there. Compare this with the use of force by the US police in various peaceful demonstrations during the heydays of the Occupy movement in the country.