Opposition Slam 'police Tactics' Of Legco Staff

Pro-democracy lawmakers accused Legco security staff of siding with the pro-government camp and using police-style tactics to subdue them during a chaotic House Committee meeting on Monday.

"There are so many incidents we can see the secretary as well as security guards have lost their impartiality," said pan-democratic camp convenor Tanya Chan.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui, who was pinned to the floor by Legco security staff during the melee, said in a Facebook post that three members of the security staff had forcibly held him down on the ground.

Hui said one of them pushed his head to the ground, while another pressed his chest so hard that he struggled to breathe.

He said that many of Legco's security guards are former policemen, and described their behaviour as "very excessive".

Hui told reporters that he has never been treated so forcefully in Legco before, and did not understand why the security staff would need "police-style force" to subdue opposition lawmakers.

He posted on Facebook later on Monday that doctors at Canossa Hospital told him he suffered an injury to his chest wall.

Chan also said that some assistants of opposition lawmakers were prevented from entering the visitors enclosure to record the goings-on.

"We understand that during our ordinary meetings, our assistants are allowed to enter the balcony and take photos of our meetings. But today they rejected this without any prior notice," she said.

"As a legislator, I had no idea that our assistants are not permitted to execute their duties," said the Civic Party lawmaker.

Another pro-democracy lawmaker Andrew Wan – who was injured at the last House Committee meeting – told reporters that one of the security guards struck him around the waist on Monday.

At least one security guard was seen being taken away on a stretcher after the scuffles. But details of his injury or what led to it were not known.