Police pepper spray, arrest protesters in Tai Po

Police pepper spray, arrest protesters in Tai Po

Riot police pepper sprayed and subdued a number of people in Tai Po on Sunday afternoon after a crowd gathered to protest against plans to designate a local clinic as one that would handle mild coronavirus cases should a wider outbreak occur.



A middle-aged man was slammed onto the road before officers subdued him and took him away, as another young woman kept yelling out her name nearby as she was also arrested.



Tensions had grown throughout the afternoon, with riot police raising blue warning flags before using pepper spray on the crowd, after a small number of people scattered a rubbish container and other debris on the road.



They also warned a crowd that had gathered on a pedestrian walkway and a bicycle lane that they were taking part in an unlawful assembly, before rushing in to make arrests.



There were also tense scenes as police kept on yelling for the assembled media to keep moving back.



The trouble followed online calls for a protest march and town hall meeting against a contingency plan to use the Tai Po Jockey Club Clinic as one to treat patients who have mild cases of Covid-19 – which would be implemented if the outbreak widens, to take the strain off public hospitals.