Hong Kong police dismiss abuse rumors

Hong Kong police hold a media briefing on Friday. (Photo: Bai Yunyi/GT)

Hong Kong police on Friday refuted rumors which smear the police force and damage its credibility, accusing them of having ulterior motives and attempting to tear apart society.

Kong Wing-cheung, Acting Chief Superintendent of Police Public Relations Branch, cited recent "fake news" at a press conference on Friday, including one which claimed that mainland police have joined the Hong Kong police force. The others were that the police pretended to be demonstrators destroying MTR stations and police killing demonstrators and dumping their bodies in the sea.

As for the alleged sexual assault case involving police, Cheung Po-yuet, Chief Inspector of Family Conflict and Sexual Violence Policy Unit, said police has not received any complaint of sexual assault related to the San Uk Ling Holding Centre or Kwai Chung Police Station, and appealed to the "victim" to provide concrete evidence so that police can launch a fair fact-finding investigation as soon as possible.

Police gave priority to such a serious allegation, and will protect the victim's identity and investigate such allegations fairly and impartially no matter who the victim is, Cheung said.

Cheung said the police will take measures to prevent the victim from being harmed again, with investigations to be conducted by police officers of the same gender, providing her services from non-governmental organizations　and allowing her to be accompanied by appropriate people.

During a dialogue held at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) on Thursday night, a female student claimed that after being arrested, she was sexually assaulted by police officers while being detained at the San Uk Ling Holding Center. She later changed the location to the Kwai Chung Police Station.

Police also denied that a 15-year-old girl, whose dead body was found in the sea, was arrested previously for participating in illegal demonstrations.

Police said they were sure that the girl was not arrested in recent Hong Kong riots.

Preliminary forensic investigation found that the girl had no suspicious bruises or signs of sexual assault on her body, but the cause of the death has not been determined, police said.

Hong Kong media reported that a naked dead body of a girl was found floating in the sea on September 22, and was identified by local media as the missing 15-year-old girl surnamed Chan. Chan had joined demonstrations several times before her death. Some Hong Kong and Taiwan media then fabricated reports claiming that police may have beaten Chan to death or forced her to kill herself.

On suspicions a pregnant woman was being harshly treated after being sent to the delivery room, Kong said police sent the woman to the hospital in time after she was arrested, and checked her identity independently in the delivery room after talking to the doctors.

Police respect the privacy of those arrested and their request for medical treatment, Kong said.

The woman was arrested on Monday night in Tuen Mun where rioters blocked roads and destroyed public facilities.

Police said 90 people have been arrested since the anti-mask law took effect on October 5. Some rioters built illegal barricades and forced drivers and passengers to show their belongings and cell phones, which worried many residents.