A Hong Kong bus driver who honked at police officers and was arrested for dangerous driving during a protest on Sunday had a spanner with him, authorities confirmed.
The 37-year-old driver now faces an additional charge of “possession of offensive weapon,” fueling more accusations that the arrest of the man—who honked at police officers and wore a respirator typically used by protesters—was politically motivated.
In a video livestreamed by the police’s Facebook page at around 4pm, police are seen stopping a number 970 bus on Nathan Road in Yau Ma Tei and boarding the vehicle.
Officers demanded that the driver alight the bus. He was then patted down and searched before being taken away.
Read more: Hong Kong homeless man fined HK$1,000 for spraying protest graffiti
Police said on social media that the man was arrested because of his “dangerous driving manners,” adding that he was driving at a “high speed” and drove “close to the police officers carrying out their duties at the scene.”
https://www.facebook.com/HongKongPoliceForce/photos/a.964784386942859/3501157576638848/?type=3&theater
In a statement emailed to Coconuts HK, police said they found a spanner—an auto-mechanic tool often used for vehicle repair—on the driver when he was detained at the police station.
Hong Kong Bus Channel, a group of public transport employees, said they would protest the arrest by slowing down their duties in a work-to-rule demonstration.
At least 289 people were arrested on Sunday as protesters took to the streets on what would have been election day for the new Legislative Council term. Citing public health concerns amid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, authorities postponed the vote by a year, a decision that many have decried as political.
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