Detainee assaulted at the police station now suffers from depression
#PoliceBrutality #PoliceState
At 9 pm, 31 March 2020, Hung encountered a squad of riot police near Prince Edward Station. While the police were dispersing dozens of onlookers towards Lai Chi Kok Road, Hung followed the direction of the crowd. Not long, more riot police all of a sudden showed up and closed in on the crowd Hung was in. “The police were insane. Out of the blue they jumped out of their vehicles, rushed towards us, pushed us around with force. It was chaotic.”
Initially Hung thought the police merely wanted a stop-and-search. A few minutes later, they changed their mind and decided to arrest Hung and the crowd of 20 odd people, accusing them of ”illegal assembly”. All of them were taken to Hung Hom Police Station. ”Everyone in the police vehicle looked calm, numb and devoid of emotion, as if they expected this,” he recounted. Almost nine out of ten of the arrestees were young and casually dressed, looking like local residents, and everyone was wearing a surgical mask.
At 1 am the next day, having had their statements taken at the police station, everyone was asked to surrender their personal belongings as we they waited to be led to the detention cells. At that moment, Hung was holding his statement of about ten sheets of paper and there was a lot of personal data therein. With the paper in a loose pile and worried about losing pages, Hung requested to have the statement stapled. However, the policeman refused as arrestees are not allowed to keep any metal object. Hung then asked for a rubber band and was again rejected. When Hung asked once again, a riot police officer shouted: ”No fxxking way!”
Hung was irritated by the officer’s manner. ”There is no police number on your shoulder. You are but a coward,” Hung taunted the policeman. A police commander passed by and heard what Hung said. ”What the fxxk do you want? Motherfxxker! I am fxxking you up right now! Coward!” the commander yelled at Hung. Then, four to five policemen rushed to Hung and pushed him around. One ordered Hung to kneel down. At one point, the police commander grabbed a blue chair, raised it above Hung’s head as if he would whack it on Hung.
”I was scared. My father and mother are still with me. I don't want to be sent to San Uk Ling (a notorious detention centre),” Hung said. He was so terrified that he kept apologising. The police commander put the chair down. Then, the other policemen gathered around Hung and started hitting and kicking him for about a minute. The back of Hung’s skull was heavily punched making him dizzy. Furthermore, there was bruising on Hung’s left arm and his right leg was so badly kicked that he was crippled.
”Inside the police station, the police can do whatever they want. They don’t even need to first take you to a dark corner. They can beat you as they wish. No matter how badly they harm you, you are not allowed to defend yourself.”
Hung told the journalist hid experienced in the police station has left him “psychological scarred”. He is not able to concentrate anymore and has insomnia. He is afraid that the police would take their words back and charge him for assaulting police officers. However, Hung does not regret having taunted the police officer. “What danger can a rubber band pose?” Hung insisted he was not carrying any tools that could be used for criminal acts and he was charged for “illegal assembly”, it was completely absurd. “If my sacrifice can draw people's attention to police brutality, what I have suffered will be worth it.”
What Hung found most outrageous was how the police commander played the “good cop”. He pretended to comfort Hung saying: ”Back in the 80s, you could have been shot for throwing petrol bombs.” Hung was also told: ”Don't resort to extreme means to bring chaos to society.” He also claimed that Hung fought back with his elbow and could be charged for assaulting police officers.
However, he said he would not pursue further charges and asked Hung if he felt “at ease” about it. He even shook Hung’s hand as a sign of “truce”.
At 3 am, Hung requested to see a doctor as he had symptoms of asthma and a mild fever. Two police officers escorted him to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The nurse asked Hung if he was beaten up. He said “yes” but dared not tell any details. After being discharged, Hung was escorted back to the police station and detained in a four-person cell. The whole saga lasted nearly 20 hours.
Source: Stand News #Apr6
https://www.thestandnews.com/politics/831-七個月-問警索要橡筋-中度抑鬱被捕人紅磡警署遭警拳打腳踢-最擔心被人告襲警/