Two men who were arrested over their alleged involvement in an attack on anti-government protesters and commuters at a Hong Kong MTR station have been charged with “rioting,” making them the first to be formally charged in relation to the attack after a month of investigation.
Police Chief Superintendent John Tse announced during a press briefing this afternoon that the two men, aged 48 and 54, will appear at Fanling Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
The duo are the first among the 28 people arrested to be formally charged over the brutal attack, which saw a group of men in white shirts swarm Yuen Long MTR station and use bamboo canes and metal rods to beat up anti-government protesters returning from a rally on Hong Kong Island on the night of July 21.
The city’s police force has come under intense fire for their slow response — both on the night in question, for allowing the onslaught to drag on for nearly 40 minutes before arriving at the scene, and later, for taking so long to bring the cases to prosecution.
HK01 reports that 45 people — including protesters, commuters, journalists, and a politician — were injured in the melee, and at least 35 were hospitalized.
The police announcement comes one day after hundreds of protesters returned to the train station to stage a mass sit-in to mark one month since the attack.
The other suspects — most of whom were arrested for unlawful assembly — were released on bail pending further investigation.
Accusations were made that some officers — and a pro-Beijing lawmaker — were involved with attack after it emerged that calls to the police were not going through and officers at two nearby police stations closed the shutters on angry residents trying to file police reports.
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