Reporter pepper sprayed for being abusive: police

Reporter pepper sprayed for being abusive: police

Timmy Sung reports

Police have explained at their daily press briefing why they pepper sprayed a reporter in Mong Kok on Sunday night, saying he had ignored warnings to stop being verbally abusive.



The reporter from Mad Dog Daily, who was also beaten with batons, was arrested after what the force described as "a bit of physical contact".



"His verbal abuse was very likely to cause a breach of the peace at the scene. So our officer had already given him a warning to stop his illegal or disorderly act. Unfortunately, he didn't follow the warning," said senior superintendent Kong Wing-cheung.



"After my officer sprayed the pepper spray, he had a bit of physical contact with my officer, so my officer decided to arrest him for obstructing a police officer."



Video footage of the incident shows the reporter saying "I'm already on the pavement. How can I step back further?".



Police said 27 rounds of tear gas and three rubber bullets were fired during the protest dispersal operation. One of the projectiles hit a reporter from Baptist University’s student publication in the face.



Kong said reporters should leave the scene immediately if they find that protesters are hiding among them.