Hong Kong police arrest 149 people during protests in last few days

A journalist records evidence items presented by police at police headquarters in Hong Kong, south China, Aug. 12, 2019. The Hong Kong police said on Monday that they have arrested 149 people during the series of violent protests over the past few days. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

HONG KONG, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong police said on Monday that they have arrested 149 people during the series of violent protests over the past few days.

Tang Ping-keung, deputy commissioner of police, said at a press briefing on Monday that during the series of protests, radical protesters acted lawlessly and escalated the level of violence. They have spread the violent acts across Hong Kong, causing serious inconvenience towards the general public's daily life and posing threats to people's safety.

The 149 people, arrested between Aug. 9 and Aug. 12, comprise 111 male and 38 female, aged between 15 to 53. They were suspected of crimes including unlawful assembly, assault on policemen, obstruction of police in the execution of duty, possession of offensive weapons and dangerous objects.

Tang said that on Aug. 11, some people turned a deaf ear to the police's objection and got involved in unauthorized rallies. Some of the protesters later went to different places all over Hong Kong and blocked main roads and thoroughfares, besieged police stations and damaged police vehicles.

In Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Peninsula, a mob threw petrol bombs into the police station, and the legs of a policeman were burnt by fire consequently.

The police noticed that some protesters were involved in extremely violent activities, and therefore they carried out intelligence-led operations and arrested 15 core members of the mobs on Aug. 11 in Causeway Bay, the Hong Kong Island.

Tang called on protesters to stop using violence to disturb Hong Kong's social order and he hoped that the Hong Kong society can soon restore calm.