Protest eye girl 'left HK with no serious injury'

A woman's eyeball did not burst when she was hit by a hard object outside Tsim Sha Tsui police station two years ago, police sources said, quoting medical reports.

Nearly two years since the August 11, 2019 incident, police continue to probe her connection to riots and whether rumors of her injury were disseminated to ignite protests.

Sources told Sing Tao Daily, The Standard's sister paper, that police had already retrieved her medical report, which showed she did not sustain any severe injuries.

"The medical report shows that the injury sustained by the woman in her 20s was not very serious, her eyeball did not burst and was not even hurt. She only sustained injuries on areas surrounding her right eye," the sources said.

But the report could not pinpoint what actually caused the injury, listing two possible causes - 50 percent by ammunition and the other half by a hard object.

There were allegations it was caused by bean bag rounds fired by police, while others argued that it was caused by projectiles from protesters' slingshots, sources said.

They also said police already charged 29 people for rioting on that day and they will be brought to court between November and February.

"She is now being investigated by police whether she is involved in rioting, and she will be wanted if police gathered sufficient evidence and sought the Department of Justice's legal advice," sources said.

Two days after her injury, a violent demonstration was held at the airport which led to Fu Guohao, a reporter with Chinese state newspaper Global Times, being kicked and hit with umbrellas repeatedly by protesters.

"Police are also investigating whether opposition forces conspired to cover up information regarding the injuries of the young woman and dispersed rumors to incite a series of violent protests intended to overthrow the government," sources added.

This came after a newspaper reported that the woman was spotted leaving Hong Kong for Taiwan with no apparent injury to her eyes.

A newspaper quoted sources as saying that the woman was seen at the airport on September 30 last year and was heading for Taiwan.

A picture which came with the report showed that the woman posed before the camera at a departure gate for China Airlines flight CI910 to Taiwan at 2pm on that day.

Other pictures obtained by the newspaper showed that a few friends and relatives saw her off at the airport, and there was allegedly no obvious sign of an eye injury, and her right eye was no longer covered with bandages.

She was also seen in pictures playing with her phone at the airport, suggesting she had recovered from her injuries and had good eyesight.

In response to the incident, lawmakers called on police to investigate whether the woman had taken part in illegal behavior at the protest scenes and should prosecute her in accordance with the law.

Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan, of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said police should find out the cause of the woman's injury and investigate whether she took part in illegal assemblies.

The woman was hit by a hard object in her right eye and bled heavily on Nathan Road outside the Tsim Sha Tsui police station on August 11, 2019.

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com