Occupy movement puts HK public at risk: HK official

Hong Kong's Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok said on Wednesday that the Occupy movement has had impacts on Hong Kong's emergency rescue services and has put Hong Kong people at risk.

Lai made the remarks in a written reply to a question by Dr Hon Lam Tai-fai in the Legislative Council. He said the illegal occupation of a number of major roads by protesters has resulted in serious problems such as traffic congestion.

According to statistics of the Fire Services Department (FSD), the response time performances (RTPs) of emergency ambulance services and building fire calls of the affected areas have dropped compared to those before the "Occupy."

Lai said time is of vital importance in fire-fighting and rescue services as well as in emergency ambulance services.

"A small fire may turn into a disaster with severe loss of life and property because of a few minutes' delay. To those injured persons and patients requiring emergency ambulance services, one minute of delay can mean a difference between life and death.

"Hence, the Administration urges all protesters, who have illegally occupied the roads for a long span of time, to remove their obstacles as soon as possible and to leave in an orderly manner, so that the roads can be reopened to emergency vehicles for provision of timely emergency rescue services to those in need, sparing the public from unnecessary risks," he added.

Lai also noted that confrontations at different locations of unlawful assemblies in recent days have resulted in the injury of 65 police officers.

According to the records of the FSD, as of November 3, a total of 262 persons, including 40 police officers, were sent to hospital by FSD ambulances due to injury or not feeling well during the protest assemblies.

The Transport Department (TD) said the Occupy movement, which has lasted for over a month, has resulted in road closures, traffic congestion and route adjustments of public transport services. The Hong Kong government hotline has so far received more than 270 complaints related to public transport services and traffic affected by the illegal occupation of roads.