A protester has been charged with assaulting a police officer, failing to show identification documents, and two counts of wounding with intent, after he allegedly bit off part of a police officer’s finger.
To Kai-wa, a 22-year-old University of Hong Kong fresh graduate, was arrested at the New Town Plaza in Sha Tin on Sunday following a scuffle between anti-extradition law protesters and the police. Police Commissioner Stephen Lo has said that an officer had a section of his finger bitten off during the unrest.
The case was mentioned at the Shatin Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday afternoon. The accused was allowed HK$10,000 bail, with a HK$10,000 personal surety.
The case was postponed until September 10 for further hearings. The accused cannot leave Hong Kong, or enter New Town Plaza. He must report to police on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and must observe a curfew.
Over 40 arrests were made for the Sha Tin protests, according to the police.
Demosisto arrests
Meanwhile, pro-democracy group Demosisto said that two of its members – Calvin Chu and William Liu – were arrested on unlawful assembly charges on Sunday. Police officers hit the two men in their back and head while they were trying to leave peacefully, the group claimed.
The duo have been held for over 40 hours. In a statement, Demosisto complained that the Sha Tin district anti-triad unit took over their cases: “It is unreasonable… we question whether the police are trying to link Demosisto with triads.”
Police have obtained warrants to search the pair’s homes. Liu was brought to his home for a police search on Tuesday afternoon.
When Liu came out of his home escorted by officers, he chanted: “Shame on the police abuse of power! Peaceful protest not a crime!”
The extradition bill would allow the city to handle case-by-case fugitive transfers to jurisdictions with no prior arrangements, including China. Critics have said residents would be at risk of extradition to the mainland, which lacks human rights protections.
The controversy over the bill sparked large-scale protests since June, before morphing into protests over democracy, alleged police brutality and other community grievances. Chief Executive Carrie Lam declared the bill “dead” last week, but did not enact any mechanism to withdraw it, or agree to other demands.
