An apparent officer for the police’s Criminal Investigation Division has come under fire from netizens who say he racially profiled two Hong Kong citizens.
Manreek Walia, a Hong Kong citizen, contacted Coconuts HK over the weekend after he and his friend had allegedly been stopped and searched by a CID officer.
Walia said the officer demanded to know where he was from before the search, which lead him to ask why law enforcement officers “always checked brown people”. Walia told us that the CID reportedly replied, “If you don’t want us to check you, you should go back to India.”
The incident appears to have taken place in Central at around lunchtime on Saturday.
Walia told us that he and his friend were reportedly late for work, and did not have time to note the CID’s badge number or name.
Instead, Walia told us he snapped a quick photo of the officer before leaving for work and shared the story on a popular Hong Kong Facebook group, where his post has since gone viral, racking up over 14,000 likes and shares.
Hongkongers have been debating amongst themselves about the truth and appropriateness of the story in the post’s comment section, with Walia answering some queries directly.
When questioned by a commenter, Walia said that he believes the man was a CID officer as he was accompanied by two uniformed officers, who reportedly acted professionally.
One eagle-eyed netizen apparently matched Walia’s photo to photos of a then-uniformed officer facing off against protesters during last year’s Occupy movement.
