Fires set at entrances of two courts

Fires set at entrances of two courts

A picture provided by the City Broadcasting Channel shows that a shutter gate at High Court was on fire.

One of the doors at the Court of Final Appeal is seen charred after apparently being firebombed. Photo: RTHK

Graffiti was left outside a Bank of China building on Des Voeux Road Central. Photo: RTHK

..And the statue of Sir Thomas Jackson was turned into one of a Hong Kong protester. Photo: RTHK

Fires were set at entrances to the High Court and the Court of Final Appeal on Sunday evening, while shops, restaurants and banks were vandalised during a mostly peaceful protest march from Victoria Park to Central.



In a statement, the police said “rioters spray-painted the exterior walls of the High Court; and threw petrol bombs outside the High Court and the Court of Final Appeal, damaging government property and seriously challenging the spirit of the rule of law.”



The force said officers from the Central District Investigation Team are now investigating both cases as arson.



Police said they first received a report from a security guard at around 6pm that a fire had been set outside the shutter gate of the High Court on the LG4 level – which connects the building to the nearby Pacific Place mall and surrounding office buildings.



Burn marks were left at the gate, while shattered glass and towels were strewn on the floor after the fire was put out. Media reports also said the wall was sprayed with graffiti which says ‘the rule of law is dead’.



Then, around an hour later, the Fire Services Department received a separate report of a fire at the Court of Final Appeal in Central. One of the entrances of the historic building was left charred, with broken glass and other debris littering the floor.



The Department of Justice said the apparent arson attacks “not only disrupted social peace, but also undermined Hong Kong’s reputation as a city governed by the rule of law.” It said the government would not” condone any acts of sabotage against the Judiciary or damage to the rule of law.”



Some establishments seen to be pro-Beijing were also vandalised. A branch of the Chiyu bank was smashed up in Wan Chai, while graffiti was sprayed at a Bank of China building on Des Voeux Road Central, and on the windows of a Starbacks café at the Pacific Place mall in Admiralty.



Protest stickers and a Guy Fawkes mask favoured by by demonstrators were placed on the statue of banker Sir Thomas Jackson at Statue Square, while an umbrella was hung off his arm.