Senior Superintendent Foo Yat-ting of Hong Kong Police Force's Kowloon East Region speaks at a press conference on Nov. 5, 2019, Hong Kong. (Xinhua)
The Hong Kong police on Tuesday dismissed rumors online that a young man was injured by the police in a car park during a dispersal operation early Monday, and pledged to restore the truth.
A young man was found injured inside a car park in Tseung Kwan O early Monday, when the police were carrying out a dispersal operation against unlawful and violent protesters in the area.
"The police have noticed there are allegations online that the injured man was pushed down from height by the police. The police hereby solemnly declare that there is no such thing," Senior Superintendent Foo Yat-ting of Hong Kong Police Force's Kowloon East Region said at a press briefing on Tuesday night.
The police had no knowledge of the incident until they entered the car park and saw firefighters were giving first aid to the injured man, Foo said.
According to Foo, the police entered the car park shortly after 1:00 a.m. local time to disperse protesters who threw hard objects such as bricks and glass bottles from height on police officers.
At least 10 minutes before the police entered the car park, a group of firefighters arrived to deal with a fire alarm in the car park, and then was informed by a man at the scene about the injured young man.
Foo also rejected allegations that the police obstructed the rescue work of firefighters and paramedics for the injured.
"We have confirmation from the Fire Services Department that the police officers at the scene did not affect or interfere with the rescue work, or try to get rid of the rescuers," she said.
Before entering the car park, the police carried out a dispersal operation and deployed tear gas and other force against protesters who blocked traffic and attacked police officers on nearby roads. However, according to Superintendent Wu Ka-yan of Kowloon East Crime Regional Headquarters, the site of the operation was about 120 meters away from the car park.
Wu said after initial investigation, the police believe that the young man fell from the third floor to the second floor of the car park between 0:45 and 1:00 a.m. local time, but because of angle problem the surveillance footage could not show how he fell.
The police will continue checking surveillance footage collected in the area, he said, appealing to witnesses and owners of cars parked there to provide clues so that the police could restore the truth.
Foo said the police felt distressed by the incident, and urged those with ulterior motives to stop spreading rumors to smear the police for their own positions and inflict secondary harm on the injured and his family.
Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam, who is on a visit to the mainland, said on Tuesday in Shanghai that she felt very sad that some people were injured in the violence over the weekend in Hong Kong, especially about the injury of the young man, and she hoped the injured would recover soon.
