Media figure Roy Tsui, better known by his pen name Lam Yat-Hei, obliquely accused police of being less than honest about claims they had been trapped in their headquarters for 15 hours by a mob of protesters on Friday.
Following the protest, police slammed demonstrators for what they called an “illegal, irrational, and unreasonable” action, maintaining that protesters had prevented an ambulance from reaching sick people inside the building, and vowing to pursue those responsible.
But Tsui, a prominent figure in media circles thanks to his ownership of the humor outlet 100 Most, questioned authorities’ narrative, posting a screenshot of a purported Facebook message from a staffer at the station saying they had left when the protest was in full swing with no problems.
In the post, Tsui appeared to teasingly speculate that “this staff member person could be lying, so the government must come out and clarify this rumor,” including both the screenshot and cropped photo of what he said was the staffer’s ID badge.
https://www.facebook.com/Lam1Hey/posts/2318572871568038
“I was confused as to why the police would say office staff were trapped inside the station for more than 10 hours,” the message from the unnamed staffer reads. “We office staff were allowed to leave at around 1pm, and I didn’t face any blockades or threats as I left the station.”
Friday’s protest — during which hundreds surrounded the headquarters to urge the government to withdraw a controversial extradition bill, and hold police to account for their use of tear gas and rubber bullets at a previous rally — was largely peaceful, with the exception of a few thrown eggs.
In the message posed by Tsui, the staffer questioned the police response to the demonstration.
“The police had said that staff members that are pregnant or had chronic diseases were trapped inside the station until midnight, however, since office staff could leave in the afternoon, why are these staff members still inside the station then?” the staffer asked. “Is it really the demonstrators blocking their way out?”
While the staffer notes that they had been able to leave without incident earlier in the day, they did not comment on the situation afterwards. At similar protests today and Friday at Immigration Tower and Revenue Tower, demonstrators allowed people to leave the buildings, but refused to let people in.
It was unclear Friday whether that was the case at the police headquarters.
Police maintained in an email that by 4:45pm, it was impossible for staffers to leave the station, and stood by the assertion that protesters delayed the arrival of medical treatment for several staffers.
A police representative told HK01 that 13 staff members had left the station by ambulance shortly before midnight after complaining of feeling unwell, but declined to address the substance of the conflicting account.
In the message, the purported staffer said she hoped her account would provide a counter-narrative so police “don’t mislead the citizens.”
UPDATED: This story has been updated to include comments from police, which were sent several hours after press time.
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