Wait For IPCC Report On Yuen Long: Matthew Cheung

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung says the Independent Police Complaints Council will prepare an initial report soon on the July 21 attack on members of the public by a white-shirted mob at Yuen Long MTR Station.

Speaking on RTHK's Policy Address phone-in programme on Friday, Mr Cheung was asked to explain his remark a day earlier that people should "move forward" and stop dwelling on the attacks. The comment infuriated listeners to the programme, who criticised the police response to the violence.

"The IPCC will look into the whole saga, including July 21, they are doing very good work at the moment," Cheung said.

"It will be coming out with an initial report by the end of this year or early next year, so in other words things are moving in the right direction. So we should leave it in the hands of the IPCC."

Cheung said the IPCC had brought in five overseas experts to assist with its work on a "thematic study" of police practices and procedures since the anti-extradition movement began.

At least 45 people were injured in the Yuen Long attacks, in which men wearing white shirts and wielding bamboo sticks targeted people who they believed were returning from an anti-extradition protest in Kowloon.

The police were criticised for failing to arrive before the mob dispersed and for failing to make arrests on the night. Four people have since been charged with rioting.