Police Admit 'teething Troubles' Over Mask Law

Police have admitted there have been “teething troubles” as a new anti-mask law was introduced, as they announced that 77 people were arrested for allegedly violating the ban since it was enacted on Saturday.

Frontline reporters protested at a police briefing on Tuesday, complaining that some of their colleagues were asked to take off their respirators when covering the ongoing anti-government protests over the weekend, even when the protest sites were filled with tear gas fired by the police.

Senior superintendent of crime, Ng Cheuk-hang, appealed to journalists to give officers more time to familiarise themselves with the ban.

“The law has just been enacted for less than four days. Even for ourselves and all the citizens in Hong Kong, we need time. That’s why we make use of this opportunity to explain a little more so everybody will get more familiarised with it,” he said.

Among those arrested for violating the law – enacted under the colonial-era Emergency Regulations Ordinance – the youngest was aged 12.

The force said while most were arrested for covering their faces with masks during illegal assemblies, three were arrested for refusing to take off their masks when requested by officers, including an off-duty paramedic.

Meanwhile, the acting chief superintendent of the police's public relations branch, Kong Wing-cheung, defended officers who were filmed kicking a protester even after he was subdued in San Po Kong, saying he had resisted the arrest.

Kong also dismissed criticism over riot police forcibly entering a shopping centre in Ma On Shan on Monday night, despite attempts by security guards to stop them.

He said police received a report that a shop was vandalised inside the mall, and officers had the authority to enter the mall to investigate the case.

A total of 2,363 people, aged between 12 and 83, have been arrested since the anti-government protests broke out in June.