No Police Collusion In Yuen Long Attack: IPCC Report

A long-awaited report from the police watchdog has concluded that while there was “room for improvement” in how the force dealt with anti-government protests since last June, there are no systemic problems in the police force, and officers did not collude with an armed gang that attacked passengers at the Yuen Long MTR station last July.

Commenting on what is considered one of the most controversial events during last year’s protests, the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) concluded that it had been impractical for officers to make arrests after the suspected attackers went into Nam Pin Wai, a village near the Yuen Long MTR station where suspected attackers were seen holding weapons.

It said there were “too many people on both sides” of the conflict for the force to take action.

The council also said even though riot police was seen talking to men in white who are suspected of involvement in the attack, this was not evidence of collusion between them because the force had to ask the white-shirted men to return to Nam Pin Wai.

The IPCC also stressed that it is beyond the statutory powers of the council to make any determination on the question of collusion, but it is merely commenting on the basis of rampant allegations made online.

“The police’s failure to take timely action in certain instances did fuel allegations of collusion against the police”, the report said.

It also concluded that inadequacies of the police’s command structure led to a lack of action while the mob went on a rampage.

The council also labelled as “extraordinary” online claims that police had killed people in Prince Edward Station on the evening of August 31, when riot officers stormed through the station.

“If people had been killed inside the station”, the report said, “relatives of the deceased would soon report them missing and would come forward to tell the public.”

The council stressed that Hong Kong has faced its most challenging public order situation in a generation, but “the police action in the Yuen Long incident and other incidents resulted from the need for law enforcement action.”

“While the police handling of these incidents leaves room for improvement and in the case of the Yuen Long incident, even much more, the hate messages on the internet after these events, coupled with the threats at Police quarters from time to time, were blatant propaganda with little or no factual basis, aimed at smearing the police force and impeding police officers from performing their duty to maintain law and order.”

IPCC chairman Anthony Neoh also defended the use of force by officers in policing the months of unrest, noting that the protests have “metamorphasised from initial peaceful processions and public meetings to extreme forms of violent protests in the streets, resulting in destruction of public and private property, disruption of our transport infrastructure, and serious injury (and in one case death) of many citizens holding different views.”

Neoh added that it is the force’s duty to keep the peace and maintain law and order.

“Under the violence they had to face in performance of their duty, the police had found it necessary to resort on occasion to the use of force.”

The IPCC added that officers had only employed force "in reaction to illegal action by protesters and for protection of themselves and others when attacked by violent protesters."

It also stressed that allegations of police brutality "must not be made a weapon of political protest", and any officer who had gone beyond the limits of his powers should be held accountable under the law.

The council made 52 recommendations to the force on how to improve their policing of large scale public order events, including suggestions to review their guidelines on the use of force, as well as tear gas, in the densely population urban setting of Hong Kong.

It also called for clearer chains of command, improvements in communication, and a setting up of a code of practice with members of the media – who filed numerous complaints against police related to their coverage of the protests.

The report has been submitted to the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, and Police Commissioner Chris Tang.

In December, a panel of five overseas policing experts quit the "fact-finding study", saying the IPCC needs more powers if it is to conduct a meaningful probe.

But the government has continued to insist that the watchdog's study will help people understand the reasons for the turmoil Hong Kong has suffered.

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