Cop attacked as 20 arrested in Causeway Bay, Mong Kok

Sophie Hui

A police officer was believed to be stabbed last night outside the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay.

The suspect was reportedly arrested at the blood-stained scene at around 10pm. The officer, said to be injured under his arm, collapsed as others came to his aid.

Police commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee went to Causeway Bay after the incident.

The alleged attacker was one of around 20 people arrested on the handover anniversary, many of them for allegedly giving out "seditious leaflets."

Another 19 people were fined for breaking gathering curbs and mask orders.

Some 10,000 police officers were deployed yesterday, mainly on Hong Kong Island and in Mong Kok, to stop any protests at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay - traditionally the starting point for a July 1 rally but which had been cordoned off since noon. Among those arrested was Student Politicism convener Wong Yat-chin, 20, who police said was in a group trying to set up a street booth in Mong Kok.

He was also arrested over a street booth in the same place on June 4. The group later said its spokeswoman Wong Yuen-lam, 19, was arrested outside a Mong Kok station exit near Grand Plaza.

Police said five men and six women were arrested for "distributing seditious publications" on Soy Street outside Langham Place and on a footbridge in Mong Kok.

Elsewhere, a man was arrested for the alleged possession of an imitation firearm in Causeway Bay.

Police said another man, 27, was held in Tin Hau for possessing a foldable knife.

Two women and a man were arrested for disorderly conduct in Causeway Bay, police said, adding the man also failed to produce proof of identity.

Police also said activist Alexandra Wong Fung-yin, nicknamed "Grandma Wong," was taken away for waving a British flag in Causeway Bay, near the Sogo department store.

Police entered the mall Fashion Walk at about 4pm when some protesters went in after officers raised a yellow flag on Great George Street warning people against breaching the law.

Several people, most wearing a black shirt and yellow mask, were stopped and searched by police in the area, including two underaged boys.

Police said that at around 2pm people gathered in Causeway Bay where some of them waved flags and chanted slogans "attracting a large number of onlookers."

The force added: "Police had given multiple warnings at the scene requesting participants to stop disrupting public order and to leave immediately, but in vain."

Victoria Park was cordoned off after police said intelligence showed that an unauthorized public meeting and public procession were likely to take place there despite a ban.

"Balancing the situation, we decided that the best approach was to close Victoria Park," said senior superintendent Liauw Ka-kei. He warned that anyone who entered or stayed in the park could face a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail.

"I believe that citizens will understand the decision was made to ensure public order, public safety, as well as balancing the rights of others. We make decisions to best protect members of the public," Liauw said.

Police banned any July 1 rally due to social distancing measures for the second year in a row.

They also stopped the setting up of street stalls in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok - a move described as a "curfew" by activists.

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions managed to set up two booths in Mong Kok but was stopped by police when members tried to set up another booth on East Point Road in Causeway Bay.

Only four people from the League of Social Democrats, including chairman Raphael Wong Ho-ming, marched in Wan Chai in the morning.

sophie.hui@singtaonewscorp.com