Police in Hong Kong have arrested three former opposition legislators over incidents in May and June, in which foul-smelling liquid was thrown inside the city’s legislature, an act police said was intended to cause harm.
Pro-democracy activists Ted Hui, Ray Chan and Chu Hoi-dick confirmed the arrests on their Facebook pages on Wednesday.
The arrests came after Hong Kong’s opposition legislators resigned en masse last week in protest against the dismissal of four colleagues in what they see as a further clampdown by Beijing on the city’s political and civic freedoms.
Police said after an in-depth investigation, the three men had been charged with attempting to use harmful substances with the intent to cause harm, psychological injury or irritation to others. They are being detained while the investigation continues.
Live television footage showed legislators Eddie Chu and Ray Chan rushing to the front of the chamber during a June debate over a controversial bill that was designed to criminalise “disrespect” of China’s national anthem.
As they grappled with security guards, the reeking fluid was sloshed about. Police and firefighters arrived later.
Chan and Chu later said the liquid they hurled was bio-fertiliser.
Despite their attempts to disrupt the proceedings, the law – which includes jail terms of three years as well as fines of $6,450 (50,000 Hong Kong dollars) – passed the legislature.
China denies curbing rights and freedoms, but authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing have moved swiftly to quash dissent in the wake of last year’s anti-government protest
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