Police have arrested a 32-year-old bus driver on suspicion of doxxing an officer who shot an unarmed protester at point blank range during a protest in Sai Wan Ho in November.
Police arrested the bus driver, surnamed Wong, on Thursday, Jan. 9 on suspicion of “disclosing personal data obtained without consent from the data user” while he was on duty in Ma On Shan.
Headline Daily reported today that the information included photos and personal details about the officer and his children — including the name of the school his two daughters attend, where the officer is the chair of the Parent-Teacher Association.
The officer in question is the one who shot 21-year-old student Chow Pak-kwan in the torso during a protest in Sai Wan Ho. Chow had to undergo emergency surgery, and lost part of his kidney and liver, before being discharged from hospital more than a week later.
Footage of the shooting immediately raised questions as to whether the use of deadly force against an unarmed person had been justified, but police confirmed later that month that no disciplinary action had been taken against the officer — or any of the hundreds of other cops accused of excessive force over months of demonstrations. The student the officer shot, meanwhile, has been charged with taking part in an unlawful assembly.
RTHK reports that following the doxxing arrest, Wong was released on bail pending further investigation, and that he has to report back to the police station later this month. Police say they will continue to look for any other persons involved.
Both protesters and police have found themselves victims of doxxing since Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protest movement kicked off last June. In October, the High Court issued an interim injunction prohibiting the public from disclosing the personal information of police officers and their families — and even forbade taking photos of them.
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