Pair In Serious Condition After Sha Tin Violence

The Hospital Authority said on Monday that two people remain in a serious condition after Sunday night's clashes between police and protesters in Sha Tin.

According to officials, 28 people were admitted for treatment, of whom seven remained in hospital by Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile the police said 11 officers were injured in the unrest, of whom one lost part of a finger. The force said it arrested 20 men and 17 women in the violent clashes at Sha Tin's New Town Plaza shopping mall after a peaceful anti-extradition protests in the New Territories town.

The huge brawl broke out last night after protesters retreated to the shopping centre as they were forced off nearby roads they'd occupied for several hours. The violent confrontations began after MTR services were briefly suspended.

At one point, a group of protesters inside the mall battered several teams of riot police with umbrellas, water bottles and other objects. Vastly outnumbered, the officers were forced to retreat, as their attempt to use pepper spray and batons to disperse the roaring crowd failed.

As police regrouped and reinforcements came in, officers ran up through the different floors of the shopping mall to charge toward protesters. Police used batons to beat their way towards the protesters, who were holding up umbrellas as they were falling back.

Council Front lawmaker Au Nok-hin said he was upset by the police action and questioned why two volunteers from the Demosisto party were arrested.

"I have two of the volunteers being arrested and I tried to ask them why. What is the reason? What have they done? And they have arrested them without any explanation," Au said.

"And we have seen that the police have stormed Sha Tin New Town Plaza to clear people and to try to arrest several of the people. What I have to say is that they have to reserve a way for them to escape."

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