Now TV Driver Taken In For His Own Safety: Police

Police said on Monday that a Now TV driver who says he was beaten up by officers inside Mong Kok Police Station in the early hours had not been arrested, and he was only taken there for his own safety because petrol bombs were being thrown in the area.

The force's claim, made at a press briefing, came despite the fact that the driver's hands had been tied by cables.

Now TV said he had also been shot in the head with what is believed to have been a beanbag round.

Acting chief superintendent Kong Wing-cheung said the force's Complaints Against Police Office is now looking into the driver's claim that he was taken to a stairwell inside the station, where several officers beat him around the head with batons.

"According to our officers, after he [the driver] was accidentally shot, he fell down. So the reason for the injuries has to be confirmed. We are actively investigating this case, of course including identifying which officers had handled this injured person, as well as we have to retrieve any CCTV from the police station," Kong said.

The police also said it took them more than two hours to call an ambulance for the Now TV driver, who had multiple injuries including a fractured jaw, because they struggled to ascertain his identity.

The broadcaster had said that the driver, who was wearing a press vest with its logo on, had told officers that he works for the station, and another member of the press had confirmed this before the driver was detained.