Black-clad men hurl petrol bombs at HK police station

Hong Kong, March 30 (IANS) A Hong Kong police station came under attack on Monday after three black-clad men hurled petrol bombs into the compound, sparking a search for the perpetrators amid the coronavirus pandemic, it was reported.

Firefighters were called to Happy Valley Police Station at about 2.20 a.m., the South China Morning Post said in the report.

A police source said he believed three petrol bombs were hurled into the station car park. The fire burned out before firefighters arrived.

Officers scouted the area, but no arrests were made.

According to the police, no one was injured and no evacuation was needed.

Monday’s incident came a week after a similar firebombing attack at the police quarters compound in Sheung Shui.

In the Sheung Shui case, three petrol bombs were hurled into the car park of the staff quarters.

Officers arrested a 62-year-old man outside the building in connection with the attack.

It was the fourth of its kind at the site in six weeks. No one was injured in the four cases.

On January 29 and 30, there were petrol bomb attacks on four police stations and a patrol car within 24 hours, in a wave of action apparently intended to force the government to completely close the city’s borders with mainland China and supply more protective gear to residents in response to the coronavirus outbreak, said the South China morning Post report.

The city has experienced months of protests sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill, which would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to jurisdictions with which it does not have existing agreements, including the mainland.

Since the protests began last June, radicals have destroyed traffic lights and set street fires, attacked police stations, vandalised MTR facilities, shops and banks, and occupied universities.

They have also attacked police officers on the front lines, hurling petrol bombs and bricks.

–IANS

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