Sha Tin Extradition Protest Descends Into Violence

The government has condemned anti-extradition protesters who fought running battles with the police on Sunday evening. Major scuffles broke out in the New Town Plaza shopping mall in Sha Tin after the police tried to clear demonstrators from the streets and hundreds retreated into the mall.

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.

Demonstrators also threw a variety of objects at the police from the floors above where the police were trying to clear the crowd.

A government statement said some protesters had blocked roads, violently assaulted police officers and caused a breach of the peace. The statement strongly condemned what it called "these illegal acts".

The police arrested 37 people - 20 men and 17 women, relating to the protests in Sha Tin. The force said 11 officers were injured, including two who lost their fingers.

Several protesters were also injured.

The MTR Corporation announced shortly after 10 pm that trains were not stopping at Sha Tin Station until further notice. Some protesters were seen rushing onto trains that were stationary at the station.

Services resumed a short while later and people were able to leave.

Before the melee began in the evening, protesters had occupied the junction of Yuen Wo Road and Rural Committee Road in Sha Tin for several hours.

Starting from about 5 pm, witnesses say some marchers attempted to push back a police cordon line outside a sports complex in Yuen Wo Road. Officers deployed pepper spray without issuing a warning, according to the protesters.

There was a line of police in riot helmets carrying batons and shields, while protesters prepared barricades about 100 metres away. Elsewhere protesters were seen passing supplies such as helmets towards the front of their lines.

Some district councillors and lawmakers sat in the street between police and protesters in an attempt to keep both sides apart. At about 7.20pm, protesters began to move away from the front as police closed in, although some were later seen building new barricades.

The police said on social media that they had seen claims online that some people intended to use petrol bombs during the Sha Tin protest, and the force had deployed a team of specially equipped officers to deal with such a scenario.

As the police advanced and cleared the protesters from the streets, the demonstrators went into various shopping malls. Some riot police had stopped them from leaving, and the standoffs eventually descended into violence.

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