Pro-democracy activist Avery Ng Man-yuen has been charged in connection with an alleged assault during a protest against Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying last year.
Ng, chairman of the League of Social Democrats, wrote in a Facebook post that police attempted to arrest him at his residence on Thursday morning, but he was not there. He initially speculated that the charges were related to him allegedly throwing a “smelly fish sandwich” at Leung on the day of the Legislative Council elections.
According to Ming Pao, Ng and other party members demonstrated against Leung on the morning of September 4 last year. As Leung arrived to vote at Robinson Road in Mid-Levels, Ng allegedly threw a “sandwich” at him, but police did not make any arrests that day.
Ng was a candidate for the Kowloon West constituency, but failed to win a seat, obtaining only 6,811 votes.
Ng said on Thursday that he was notified of his arrest on a charge of common assault, and would go to a police station in the afternoon to assist in the investigation. He said he had predicted that he would be prosecuted at some point for what he termed his “close-range protest using a smelly fish sandwich.”
He made reference to the case of former League of Social Democrats member Derek Chan Tak-cheung, who was jailed for three weeks in November 2014 for throwing an egg at then financial secretary John Tsang Chun-wah. “I think this bodes ill,” he said.
‘Indian chicken roll’
In in the afternoon, Ng wrote on Facebook that he was to be charged with assaulting a chief inspector – not Chief Executive Leung – using an “Indian chicken roll” in the same incident. He has not further elaborated on the incident so far.
The police told HKFP that a 40-year-old surnamed Ng was arrested in Central district on Thursday in connection with the incident, and was taken into custody at 6:40pm.
The Crime Wing of the Hong Kong Island regional police are following up with the incident.
Updated with police response at 18:30.
