The Law Enforcement Officer Thread

Hong Kong's police say they were stretched and struggling.

Months into a city-wide rebellion calling for democratic reform, activists had changed tack, hitting many targets at once. They couldn't keep up.

But they have now reorganised operations and say they are on top of the situation, making it unlikely mainland troops will be seen on the city's streets.

This information came from a nearly three-hour briefing this week, given by senior police officers to international journalists, including the BBC.

They gave an unusually frank assessment on their capabilities and the likelihood of an intervention from Beijing. They say it won't happen and this is why. Could China take over?

If, at some point, this city's evolving crisis deteriorates to a level beyond the reach of the local authorities, this could mean mainland riot troops coming across from the border city of Shenzhen.

Images of the People's Armed Police arriving in convoys have been published by Chinese state media, accompanied by threats of intervention.

If this happened, "we'd be in completely new territory", a senior Hong Kong police officer said and his colleagues nodded in agreement.

He said there was no capacity for interoperability between mainland forces and Hong Kong police. There are no protocols, no plans. They have never even had joint training. Media captionHow Hong Kong got trapped in a cycle of violence

This would seem to suggest that if troop trucks start driving into Hong Kong, it means the Chinese government are taking control of the operation.

A senior officer we spoke to was adamant that "it won't happen". Hong Kong police "can handle" the current crisis, he said.

He added that speculation on social media that mainland Chinese police were already within their ranks - spurred partly by some officers not showing their identification numbers and rumours of Mandarin Chinese being spoken - was totally false.

China's ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, warned on Thursday that Beijing could "quell any unrest swiftly", and accused unidentified "foreign forces" of inciting the protests.

However, on this point, they were also frank.

When we asked if police had seen any evidence to back up the allegations that foreign governments had either funded or organised the anti-government protests, the answer was straight to the point: "No." Undercover police officers

Hong Kong police admit that, at one point, they were stretched too thin to respond to the number of moving protests, with hardline activists adopting a "hit-and-run" strategy. They would hurl bricks at a police station or block a cross-city tunnel and then, when the riot teams arrived, they would run.

During a widespread strike on 5 August, there were clashes in a dozen sites across the territory.

Police say they can now send out teams much more quickly - that they are more mobile, and have taken advantage of protesters breaking into smaller groups by moving in fast to make arrests.

The authorities can call on some 3,000 trained riot police, who normally have other roles within the 30,000-strong police force.

They also feel more confident because they have apprehended what they call significant figures among the most radical protesters.

While this movement has been described as leaderless, relying on consensus-building within chat groups, police feel that key people have been able to sway support for certain types of actions.

They say they've been able to find and grab these "main players" with the help of intelligence gathered by undercover officers placed within the ranks of the protesters. They sometimes call these "decoy operations". 'If they killed somebody, they would face murder charges'

The use of undercover police has led to concern and even paranoia among groups of protesters.

On Tuesday, activists attacked two men - including a Chinese state media journalist - at Hong Kong's airport, accusing them of being mainland officers.

On all sides, people are becoming much more cautious who they trust, including journalists. Both the police and protesters often want to see some ID before talking to you.

Police have also come under fire for what - at times - is seen as a heavy-handed approach, including the use of tear gas in residential areas and underground train stations.

Then there are images that seem to show riot teams firing rubber bullets and tear gas horizontally - at head-shot range - straight into crowds of activists.

Police said this should not be happening. "Baton round" rubber bullets are to be fired at the ground and the idea is that they then ricochet into people.

This could be what happened to me on 5 of August when a projectile - police say most likely a rubber bullet - hit me straight in the face, smashing my tear gas mask.

One of the officers told me he did not think I would have been deliberately shot in the head. "At least I hope not," he said.

He added that it was more likely a round bounced up at me from below and that it was just unfortunate to strike me where it did. Who knows?

Another officer told me that police would be crazy to fire at somebody's head with any type of round. "If they killed somebody, they would face a murder charge," he said.

The Special Tactical Contingent - a riot team known as the "Raptors" - were filmed last weekend chasing protesters into an underground train station and, at the top of an escalator, firing non-lethal rounds at activists from point-blank range, then laying into them with batons.

The police are making no apologies for this response given, they say, the violent attacks against their own officers who have had bricks and metal bars thrown at them.

Then there is the use of tear gas which is beyond its use-by date. We asked if reports were true that this could be harmful.

These officers told us manufacturers have assured them it is completely safe - however, to be sure, they would be recalling any expired canisters.

Given how much tear gas they are firing, does this mean they could run out?

"No."

There is also a really crucial question regarding their long-term future: how can they start to rebuild public trust?

The officers we met shook their heads and shrugged. "It's going to take a long time to be honest," one said.

Probably the worst public-relations disaster for the police came on 21 July, when they were nowhere to be seen as triad-connected gangs of men, dressed in white, waited for protesters at Yuen Long train station and proceeded to assault them with home-made weapons. Passers-by were also caught up in the attacks. Media captionA large group of masked men in white T-shirts stormed Yuen Long station

Although police have now made dozens of arrests among the "white shirts", many in the general public and especially among the pro-democracy camp, are calling for an independent inquiry into recent events, including alleged links between some officers and underworld gangs.

Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam has rejected the need for such an inquiry, saying that the Independent Police Complaints Council is already looking at the matter.

The officers we spoke to also said there was no need for a dedicated independent inquiry.

Even when we asked them whether this might be a way to win back public trust, they said they couldn't see the value in it.

In the meantime, police on the ground are coming under enormous personal pressure.

After a full day of street battles with protesters, they have routinely been surrounded in the street by ordinary citizens in their hundreds hurling abuse at them.

"The sound has been deafening," said one of the officers we spoke to.

There is also cyber-bullying. At least 300 officers have had their personal information placed online; photos of their children have been published and groups go to the workplaces of their wives or husbands, just to let them know they are aware of who they are.

We were told about one teenage daughter of an officer who was harassed by an adult while she was playing sport. They said to her: "What your father is doing is disgusting."

Activists have cut electricity to police homes and sent fake food deliveries to them in the early hours of the morning.

The fear of being identified for retribution is so high, we were told, that when police go to hospital for treatment, some of them describe their occupation as "public servant" rather than "police officer".

They fear hospital records could be leaked or even that they could be harassed in hospital.

Only a political solution can ultimately ease Hong Kong's crisis.

Those who can bring this about are not on the front lines. This is the realm of police and activists.

Would these officers like to see some sort of action from the city's leaders, especially Chief Executive Carrie Lam, to take the heat off the police?

They smile. It looks like they really would like to say more - but instead, after a brief pause, we are told: "We can't get involved in politics".

But tens of thousands of activists here now believe that peaceful protest has been ignored by those in power and that escalation is the only option to somehow bring about democratic reform.

The police know this is not going to end soon.

There has been an increased number of resignations from the force as a result of this crisis, we were told.

But the biggest impact, they say, has been for officers to pull together and support one another.

Is there any possibility that the protest movement has created divisions within the force?

Not a chance, they say. Exactly the opposite.

Two Hong Kong policemen were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of assault over the beating in a public hospital of a handcuffed prisoner detained for drunken behaviour.

Shocking video footage of the incident had been released by a city legislator, sparking concern from officials who promised the case would be investigated with “absolute impartiality”.

The two constables were picked up at Sheung Shui Police Station, and were being held for questioning in Tsuen Wan. Neither had been charged.

In eight minutes of security camera footage from the June 26 incident – which was not related to the protest movement sweeping the city – the two policemen are seen repeatedly hitting their 62-year-old male victim in the head, abdomen and genitals, in North District Hospital, Sheung Shui.

The victim, surnamed Chung, had been arrested for assaulting police at about 11pm the night before, according to lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting.

Chung reportedly told his sons the officers told him “this is what black cops do”, during the attack.

A police spokesman said: “The force will resolutely investigate the case fairly and squarely, with absolute impartiality.”

Tse Chun-chung, chief superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch, confirmed that two officers had been arrested for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and placed under investigation.

“The police will not turn a blind eye to violence, especially for police officers deliberately breaking the law,” Tse said.

A spokesman from the hospital said the man had been put into a “disturbed patient room” as he was emotionally unstable and agitated.

The spokesman said the patient was then guarded by the officers.

“Medical staff went to the room regularly to monitor the patient’s condition and did not find anything out of the ordinary,” he said, adding the patient had not made a complaint while at the hospital.

According to staff at the hospital, security camera footage is shown on monitors at a nursing station near where the attack took place. Exhausted, stressed and insulted: how protests are impacting Hong Kong police

“Anyone who took a look at the screen in the nursing station could have seen it,” a source said.

Staff also said the 62-year-old had been put inside a special room with padded walls and floors normally reserved for psychotic patients, or those at risk of suicide.

In the video, which was given to Lam by the man’s sons, officers are seen applying pressure to Chung’s head and an eye as he lies helpless on a hospital trolley. They then punch him in his genitals, abdomen and face, twist his wrists and later remove his trousers.

He was so drunk, the victim may have strongly criticised police officers but there is no reason for those officers to abuse their power to torture the victim, to humiliate him so seriously

Legislator Lam Cheuk-ting

At one point, one of the officers appears to stuff a baton, which had just touched Chung’s genitals, into the victim’s mouth.

A third officer is also seen briefly entering the ward, and not stopping the attack.

Chung’s apparent anguish appears to cause him to bang his head on a metal part of the bed, and his sons said their father had been ready to commit suicide.

Lam said the footage had been reduced from 28 minutes to the eight he made public, and had been obtained after the victim’s eldest son filed a request under personal privacy provisions with the authority.

Chung, who was reportedly drunk at the time of his arrest, was taken into custody around 11pm on June 25 on suspicion of assaulting police. The arrest was not related to any of the recent anti-government protests.

“He shouted ‘black cops’ before he was assaulted, then the police shouted, ‘this is what black cops do!’” said the younger son, relaying what his father had told him about his ordeal.

The sons criticised the officers’ “lawless” behaviour, and said they should be sent to jail.

“His hands were already tied, and he’s not even close to murder. Why should police torture an elderly citizen?” they said.

They said Chung only felt safe enough to tell them about the incident after he got home.

Chung reportedly had a broken ring finger and complained of pain in his genitals.

Lam condemned the officers for bringing shame to the already embattled force.

“This is beyond a simple assault,” Lam said. “He was so drunk, the victim may have strongly criticised police officers but there is no reason for those officers to abuse their power to torture the victim, to humiliate him so seriously.

“As police officers they should act professionally.”

Lam also wondered if the incident was the “tip of the iceberg”, and whether anti-government protesters could have faced similar treatment.

Police are highly concerned about a case reported by a political party this morning (August 20) in which police officers were suspected to have assaulted a patient in a ward at the North District Hospital at the end of June. The case has now been taken up by the Regional Crime Unit of New Territories South for criminal investigation.

Police reiterate that police officers are never allowed to use abusive force for their own sake. Police will follow up on the case in a fair, just and impartial manner.

Police also appeal to anyone who has any information on the case to contact the Police.

Law professor Cho Kuk's nomination as South Korea's next justice minister could have been a step towards the presidency, but instead he faces allegations of favouritism and hypocrisy over his daughter's schooling in a scandal highlighting the country's class divides.

A liberal darling with an impeccable resume, Cho is a prolific author once detained for his rights activism and has spent years championing progressive causes, boasting more than a million Twitter followers.

President Moon Jae-in — himself a former human rights lawyer — appointed him to a top government position in 2017 and this month named him justice minister, with a mission to reform the prosecutor's office.

But officials from the agency Cho hopes to lead carried out simultaneous raids this week on 20 institutions in an investigation linked to his daughter's education and a private equity fund.

South Korea is an intensely competitive society where learning is seen as vital to social and professional prospects and elite high schools have often been criticised — including by Cho, who has said they led to a "more unfair society".

So he was slammed for hypocrisy when it emerged he had sent his own daughter Cho Min to just such an institution and she had appeared to benefit from family connections.

After a two-week internship she was named lead author of a paper in the Korea Journal of Pathology entitled "eNOS Gene Polymorphisms in Perinatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy" — an impressive achievement for a teenage schoolgirl, but an implausible one.

Critics say the byline helped her unfairly gain admission to the prestigious Korea University the following year, and she later received scholarships from a medical graduate school six consecutive times, despite failing her exams twice.

Relatives are also said to have invested 1.35 billion won ($1.1 million) in a private equity fund suspected of dubious operations, and investigators have banned several family members from leaving the country.

Cho — previously seen as a possible contender to succeed Moon — has admitted his words and actions were inconsistent, but insisted he had done nothing unlawful.

"I have tried to be a 'reformist', but I humbly confess I was not stringent enough as a father," he told reporters.

The Korea Herald questioned the sincerity of his apology in an editorial. "Feeling betrayed by Moon's pledge to ensure opportunities are equal, processes fair and results righteous, many sneer at Cho and the Moon regime," it said.

Cho is set for a confirmation hearing in parliament next week, but the South Korean presidency has wide-ranging executive powers and the legislators' decision is not binding.

Score-settling is ingrained in the country's winner-takes-all political system, with every one of the country's living former presidents either currently in prison or convicted of crimes after leaving office.

Moon's mentor Roh Moo-hyun, whom he served as chief of staff in the 2000s, killed himself by jumping off a cliff after being questioned over corruption allegations involving family members.

Moon has wanted to reform the prosecution authorities ever since, believing them to be overly politicised — a cause Cho has vehemently supported.

The scandal around him gave the public a "glimpse into how the privileged have various resources at their disposal to get their kids ahead in school", according to Jung Hyun-jin of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union.

"The Cho case is not just the problems of an individual, but of the whole system," she said.

It comes amid growing concerns over widening income divides in the world's 11th-largest economy, a theme seized on by South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, whose movie "Parasite" won this year's top prize, the Palme d'Or, at Cannes.

While the satire addresses the issue in "metaphorical terms", the Cho scandal was a real-life example, columnist Kim Min-ah wrote in the Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper.

"Everyone had some sense of 'privileges for the elite' going on but few had actually witnessed it," she said.

Now, thanks to Cho, most people know how the system can be abused, she said. "He has opened Pandora's box."