Hong Kong protests lead to 13 arrests
Ex-intelligence leader predicts long sentences
HONG KONG — Police said they have arrested at least 13 people in connection with Monday’s pro-democracy demonstrations, including one man accused of storming Hong Kong’s legislature building in a breakin involving hundreds of protesters who vandalized offices and the main chamber.
The local man, surnamed Poon, was arrested in Mong Kok on suspicion of assaulting police, criminal destruction, misconduct in public places and forced entry of the Legislative Council Complex, police said late Wednesday night.
The 12 others, 11 men and one woman, were arrested in connection with a different protest that took place Monday morning.
They face various charges including possession of offensive weapons, unlawful assembly, assaulting a police officer, obstructing a police officer and failing to carry an identity document. The brief statement did not describe the offensive weapons or provide further details.
Pro-democracy demonstrators rushed police barricades around the time of a morning flag-raising ceremony marking the 22nd anniversary of the return of Hong Kong, a former British colony, to China on July 1, 1997. Police used shields, batons and pepper spray to drive them back.
That afternoon, protesters began what became an hourslong effort to break into the locked legislature building by smashing thick glass walls and prying open metal security curtains. A few hundred poured in around 9 p.m., spray-painted slogans on the walls and caused extensive damage.
On Wednesday, workers boarded up shattered windows and police carted away evidence during the start of what will be a massive cleanup and criminal investigation.
The government showed journalists the extent of the damage on a tour of the first two floors of the building.
At almost every turn, slogans had been spray-painted on the walls in Chinese and English. “Destroy the Chinese Communist Party,” read one. “Hong Kong is not China” said another.
Steve Vickers, a former head of criminal intelligence for the Royal Hong Kong Police, predicted a severe government crackdown that will result in long jail terms.