Did a Hong Kong police officer take a drink from a convenience store without paying? That’s what a video widely shared today seems to suggest, though a separate clip shared later shows officers from the force’s media relations branch paying for the drink.
As protesters retook to the streets, the 15-second video circulated online of a riot police officer in a Circle-K branch on Percival Street in Causeway Bay taking a bottled drink from a shelf went. He then turns and leaves immediately with another officer.
The video reportedly originated from Telegram.
Here’s a video capturing a riot police went into a shop to take a bottle of water and left the store without paying. https://t.co/i7UJ9cscr8 pic.twitter.com/GNqNHZEB99
— William Yang (@WilliamYang120) May 24, 2020
On Twitter, the video was shared by multiple accounts, some reaching tens of thousands of views. The version reposted by Agnes Chow, member of pro-democracy group Demosisto, has more than 400,000 views.
Police later issued a statement in response to the viral video, saying that the drink was later paid for.
The video, which does not have sound, was re-shared widely on Twitter and Facebook, where netizens left a barrage of comments criticizing police for breaking the law. “#HKPolice are theives [sic],” a user with the Twitter name @WBYeats1865 said.
One comment referenced the fact that members of the police force have in recent weeks been accused of committing crimes. Senior police officer Rupert Dover, who has been captured commanding police response during confrontations with protestors, is being investigated by authorities for allegedly building illegal structures at his home and running an unlicensed guesthouse after reports emerged in April.
Earlier this month, two police officers were arrested for possessing over HK$12 million (US$1.9 million) worth of drugs.
“This is HK Police, other than drug dealing, and illegal building construction, they also committed stealing!” a tweet by Twitter user @KathyLa87840450 read.
Prominent activist from pro-democracy group Demosisto Nathan Law tweeted: “Clearly, the Hong Kong police now are free from legal consequences.”
About an hour after the video was shared on social media, police denied that the officer had stolen the bottle, releasing a statement on Facebook that said the drink was “subsequently paid for.”
https://www.facebook.com/HongKongPoliceForce/posts/3203105313110744?__tn__=-R
In another video later shared to Twitter, three officers from the Police Public Relations Branch (PPRB) are indeed seen paying for the drink at the convenience store.
#HKPolice caught stealing water from Circle K! PR cops come in later and tries to pay the store back. Umm.. it doesn't change the fact that the police STOLE from a convenience store! What, no charges? 🤨#StandWithHongKong #HongKongProtests
@OfficalPshk pic.twitter.com/NHlJ8W0weE
— woppa 🎗😷 (@Woppa1Woppa) May 24, 2020
Months of anti-government protests, which have seen the police officers deploy what many say is excessive force, has left the reputation of the 30,000-strong police force in tatters. In between chanting pro-democracy slogans, protestors often jeer at police officers, calling them “black cops” who are not held accountable for their actions.
One Twitter user commented sarcastically on the later video: “Yep. I will come back later and pay for the goods I took next time. Good demonstration #popo.”
