A journalist at a local Chinese newspaper is set to file an official complaint to the police after he was “punched and kicked” by officers, despite reportedly showing identity documents proving he was a journalist.
Violent clashes between police and protesters angered over the government’s clearing of street hawkers in Mong Kok broke out on Monday night.
The Ming Pao journalist, surnamed Tang, was attempting the board the upper deck of a bus on Nathan Road to report on the protest scene at around 3:45am, the paper said. Police, at the time, were clearing the road. The journalist reportedly showed his press pass and left the bus, as requested by officers.
However, in a video captured by Apple Daily, he was seen being pushed down by officers with long shields, and then being kicked and beaten with batons for around 15 seconds. Tang can be heard shouting continuously that he was a journalist.
[重新上載]以下是2月9日凌晨，明報記者在旺角被毆，未經剪接的片段。片中人士已確認為明報記者。
Posted by 香港記者協會 Hong Kong Journalists Association on Tuesday, 9 February 2016
His back and fingers were injured, and the back of his head was bleeding afterwards, according to Ming Pao. His glasses were also broken. He took a taxi by himself to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei, where his head wound was closed with stitches.
See also: Calm returns to Mong Kok as hawkers reopen food stalls, unfazed by unrest.
‘Beaten up’
Mr Tang said on a Commercial Radio programme on Wednesday that he believed the officers knew he was a journalist, but did not stop beating him until a while later. He said that he did not commit any provocative actions and that the officers were using unnecessary force.
He added that he will go to the Complaints Against Police Office – a police internal unit – to file an official complaint.
Ming Pao issued a statement saying it was disappointed and shocked by the event. The newspaper condemned the behaviour of the officers involved and demanded the police initiate an investigation.
