A Hong Kong district councillor said on Tuesday he has received a threatening letter and blade warning him not to talk about an incident in which baton-wielding riot police stormed Prince Edward MTR station following hours of protest clashes two years ago.
Wan Chai District Councillor Leung Pak-kin, who filmed inside the Prince Edward MTR station where riot police pepper-sprayed people in carriages on August 31, 2019, said that he received the letter in early August.
Leung said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that while he had received threatening letters since he was elected as a district councillor two years ago, he decided to post about this particular note because the sender “finally made some effort to put the whole blade in.”
“Shut up about 831 to keep your family safe,” the letter Leung received read.
The district councillor said he “will not trouble the police with these trivial things,” but that he had notified Ronson Chan, the chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, about the letter.
Leung also said in the post that he had stopped contacting his family members or reaching out to his old friends after being elected, and that “if [sender of the letter] wants to threaten me, can they try a little harder?”
He added that to “avoid worrying his colleagues who are working in the office,” he will stop allowing people in without an appointment and will no longer lend the venue out.
“Finally, do you people think that if I don’t talk about it [831 Prince Edward MTR station incident], people will forget about it?” Leung’s post read.
“Are you thinking too highly of me or underestimating the public? Between remembering and forgetting, I believe that people will hold memory in their hearts.”
On August 31, 2019, officers were also filmed driving away reporters and medics from the station. Discrepancies in official records of injuries and the closure of the station fuelled unverified rumours of civilian deaths.
The Independent Police Complaints Council largely cleared the force of wrongdoing, but the police watchdog was criticised for its lack of independence and investigatory powers by the Court of First Instance which deemed it “inadequate.”
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
LATEST FROM HKFP
HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.
