Ip Kin-yuen says some who remain trapped at the Polytechnic University had not been able to leave before the time limit set by riot police. The lawmaker says he met a few of them.

Education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen, who has been helping protesters leave the besieged Polytechnic University campus, said today that some of those who remain inside are people who became trapped during the chaos at the weekend, RTHK reports.

"Some of them told us that they have been trapped inside because the time that was allowed to let them leave was too short. And that was the time when there was a lot of conflict between the protesters and police," said Ip.

"So they could not leave before the time limit set by the police."

The lawmaker said he met a few of them, including an insurance agent who was at the campus for business, several PolyU staff, and a housewife.

Ip said there were no accurate figures about their numbers. "I can't say if they are 10 percent, 20 percent or 50 percent [of the people inside the campus]," he said.

Ip said that although there is water and electricity on campus, the hygiene conditions are making it difficult for people to continue staying there.

The legislator told RTHK's Janice Wong that the total number of people inside PolyU is not clear, but he believes several of them are under 18.-Photo: Sing Tao