Michael Tien: Sack Police Chiefs Over Yuen Long

Pro-government lawmaker Michael Tien has called for senior police officers to face the sack for the force's failure to intervene when a gang attacked travellers at the MTR's Yuen Long station on Sunday night.

People caught in the violence said police were slow to respond to reports of the attacks by a white-clad group of as many as 100 people, which left 45 people injured, one of whom was in a critical condition. Six people were arrested on Monday on suspicion of unlawful assembly.

"Somebody at the top tier of the police force should be accountable for this," Tien told RTHK's Mike Weeks on Tuesday. "I truly believe in this. This is complete mismanagement of the police force."

Asked whether Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo should resign over the affair, Tien said: "The government, [Chief Executive] Carrie Lam, should be seriously making that consideration."

On Monday, the police chief defended the delay of more than half an hour before officers entered Yuen Long MTR Station to help the attack victims, saying some officers from the district were helping to deal with protesters on Hong Kong Island.

He added that around the same time, the police were also called to three fights and a fire in the Yuen Long area and this had added to the delay.

The police commissioner was also asked about reports that people who phoned up 999 were hung up on, or were told to stay home if they were scared. He was also pressed on why people in Yuen Long who were seen wearing helmets and holding metal rods were neither searched nor arrested when police arrived.

Lo said he would learn more, and follow up.